The American journal of gastroenterology
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Am. J. Gastroenterol. · May 2001
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialPatient-administered nitrous oxide/oxygen inhalation provides safe and effective analgesia for percutaneous liver biopsy: a randomized placebo-controlled trial.
Although percutaneous liver biopsy (PLB) can be a painful procedure, common practice has not included intravenous sedation or analgesia. Patient-administered nitrous oxide/oxygen (N2O/O2) inhalation has demonstrated analgesic efficacy in various procedures associated with mild to moderate pain. The aim of this study was to investigate the safety and efficacy of analgesia with N2O/O2 inhalation for PLB. ⋯ Patient-administered N2O/O2 inhalation provides safe and effective analgesia, at a reasonable cost, for PLB. Its routine use could be useful for the management of patients with chronic liver disease undergoing PLB as it may enhance patients compliance with future biopsies.