• G Basaranoglu, M Basaranoglu, V Erden, H Delatioglu, A F Pekel, and L Saitoglu.
• Vakif Gureba Hospital, Department of Anaesthesiology, Istanbul, and Selcuk University School of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Konya, Turkey. gbasaranoglu@hotmail.com
• Eur J Anaesthesiol. 2006 Jul 1; 23 (7): 591-3.

Background And ObjectiveStimulating the vagus nerve reduces pain. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a Valsalva manoeuvre, which stimulates the vagus nerve, on perception of pain during peripheral venous cannulation in adult patients.MethodsThis was a prospective randomized clinical trial. One hundred and ten patients scheduled for elective surgery were randomly divided into two groups. Half of the patients, Group A, underwent venepuncture during a Valsalva manoeuvre and the other half of the patients, Group B, underwent venepuncture without performing a Valsalva manoeuvre. Patients made a pain assessment using a 0-10 point numerical rating scale.ResultsThe numerical rating scale score was 1.5+/-1.2 for Group A and 3.1+/-1.9 for Group B, the difference being statistically significant (P<0.0001).ConclusionsOn the basis of data from this study, the Valsalva manoeuvre may be of the value before venous cannulation as a simple and practical method to reduce pain from venous cannulation.

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