Authors

Maitane Pouso Garrido

Position

Enfermera

Contact address

Maitane Pouso Garrido. C/ Zurbaranbarri, 57-2º. 48007 Bilbao (Vizcaya).

Contact email: maine57@hotmail.com

Abstract

Objective: to determine the type of local anesthesia, either subcutaneous or topical, that is more effective in order to reduce pain during an arterial blood gas test in >18-year-old patients.
Methodology: a narrative review of literature. The databases used for bibliographic search were Scopus, Medline, Cochrane Library and Cuiden, limited to the years 2005 to 2015, and articles in English and Spanish, through combination of MeSH terms and free text with Boolean operators.
Results: eleven (11) articles were obtained (three reviews, a quasi-experimental study, and seven clinical trials). Four of the articles stated that subcutaneous lidocaine reduced pain, three stated that pain was reduced through cryoanesthesia, and six claimed that topical anaesthetic creams did not reduce pain.
Conclusions: subcutaneous lidocaine is effective in pain reduction. Regarding topical anesthesia, there is initial evidence that cryoanesthesia could offer good results. Cream administration is not effective. It is necessary to conduct comparative studies between different types of anesthesia, as well as studies on cryoanesthesia.

Keywords:

Arterial blood gas test; local anaesthesia; pain; anaesthesia infiltration; cryoanesthesia; topical anaesthesia

Versión en Español

Título:

Anestesia subcutánea o tópica en la gasometría arterial