• Fatma Cakmak and Ali Gur.
• Department of Emergency, Erzurum City Hospital, Erzurum, Turkiye.
• Am J Emerg Med. 2022 Sep 1; 59: 636663-66.

AimArterial blood gas sampling provides useful information on respiratory parameters and acid-base balance. However, this procedure is painful and uncomfortable for the patient. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the analgesic efficacy of ethyl chloride spray compared to a placebo during radial artery blood gas sampling.MethodThis randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted at the emergency department of a tertiary hospital. A total of 202 patients were randomly divided into two groups: ethyl chloride spray (n = 101) and placebo (n = 101). The analgesic efficacy of ethyl chloride spray was compared with the placebo using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS).ResultsThe VAS score was determined to be 4 [interquartile range (IQR): 1.0] for the ethyl chloride spray group and 5 (IQR: 1.0) for the placebo group. The analgesic efficacy of ethyl chloride spray in reducing pain was statistically significantly higher compared to the placebo (p = 0.000).ConclusionEthyl chloride spray has analgesic efficacy in arterial blood gas sampling. Therefore, the use of this spray provides an analgesic effect on patients during arterial blood gas sampling performed in the emergency department.Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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