Archivos de bronconeumología
-
Arch. Bronconeumol. · Jul 1997
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial[Comparative evaluation of 3 types of syringes routinely used for arterial gas analysis].
This prospective study evaluates the practical utility of a special plastic syringe for collecting arterial blood samples for gasometry, comparing it to a glass syringe and a conventional plastic one, in 120 patients who came to our hospital for arterial blood analysis for a variety of reasons. The patients were randomly assigned to one of three groups according to type of syringe assigned. Technicians with experience in the technique prepared the syringes and collected the arterial blood samples after providing local anesthesia. ⋯ There were no differences in level of pain reported (on an analog scale) and the subjective quality of the radial pulse wave was good and similar in all three groups. In conclusion, these results show that use of the special syringe offers no important practical advantages for experienced technicians that would justify the higher price. In fact, as the conventional plastic syringes are cheaper, disposable and similarly effective in expert hands, our results suggest that their routine use for collecting arterial blood gas samples can help improve the cost-benefit ratio for a common procedure in pulmonary function units.