Effect of using different sizes of needle along with cryoanalgesia on pain associated with arterial blood gas sampling: A prospective study

Introduction: Arterial blood gas (ABG) testing requires puncture of an artery to obtain a blood sample for analysis. It is a common procedure in the hospital to allow assessment of pulmonary gas exchange. Compared with vein puncture, arterial puncture is more difficult, requires deeper needle insertion and is more painful for the patient. Cryoanalgesia would offer a noninvasive, nonpharmacologic, inexpensive and readily available tool to reduce pain associated with arterial puncture. This study sought to determine whether cryoanalgesia in the form of ice application could be an effective analgesic when applied before arterial puncture. Methodology: This was a prospective study with a convenience sample of intensive care unit patients on oxygen therapy with a physician order for an ABG test. The intervention group had a plastic bag of ice applied to their wrists for 3 min before drawing an ABG sample from the radial artery. The control group had an ABG sample drawn from the radial artery without the application of ice. Pain from the arterial puncture was measured with a pain rating scale. Results: Subjects pretreated with ice reported less pain from arterial puncture compared with subjects in the control group (median pain rating scale 2.00 Inter Quartile Range (IQR) 2.00-1.00 Vs 4.00 IQR 5.00-3.25, P = 0.01). Conclusions: Use of cryoanalgesia (Ice bag) reduces the pain associated with arterial puncture.