Radial arterial puncture is a painful procedure. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of lidocaine spray (10%) on pain associated with radial artery blood withdrawal for arterial blood gas analysis.

This randomized, controlled, double-blind study was performed between December 2018 and September 2019. Before radial arterial puncture, 10% lidocaine or placebo spray was applied to each patient by the attending physician, who was blinded with regard to random assignment. The spray was administered six times on the site from a distance of 5 cm. After waiting for 5 min, a radial arterial puncture was performed routinely. The pain levels of patients during radial arterial puncture and 5 min after puncture were evaluated with the visual analog scale (VAS). The Wilcoxon test was used to compare pain scores during puncture.

The research was performed with 67 patients (34 patients in the lidocaine group, 33 patients in the placebo group) who were admitted to the emergency department and required ABG analysis. Forty-three patients were men, and 24 were women. The ages of the patients ranged between 19 and 86 years, and the mean (± standard deviation) age was 56.3 ± 16.6 years. Pain levels, as measured by VAS, were significantly lower in the lidocaine group (24.00 mm IQR:[14.75–33.75]) compared with the placebo group (33.00 mm IQR:[22.00–61.50]) during radial arterial puncture (p = 0.011).

The level of pain perceived during radial arterial puncture was significantly lower in those who were administered lidocaine spray. Lidocaine spray application can be used in pain management related to radial arterial puncture.