Please note this information is for educational purposes only and procedures should not conducted based on this information. OSCEstop and authors take no responsibility for errors or for the use of any content.
Introduction
Wash hands
Introduce self
Patient’s name, DOB and wrist band
Explain procedure and obtain consent
Check for allergies (including chlorhexidine)
Ask preferred (or non-dominant) arm
Preparation
Wash hands
Clean tray
Gather equipment around tray (think through what you need in order)
Equipment list
Gloves
Alcohol 70%/chlorhexidine 2% skin-cleansing wipe
Arterial blood gas kit
Heparinised 1-3ml syringe with 23G needle
Rubber cube or needle cover
Cap for syringe
Sterile gauze
Tape
Wash hands
Open packets and place neatly in tray, keeping items in plastic parts of packets (without touching the instruments themselves)
Put needle on syringe if not already attached
Return to patient
Procedure
Modified Allen’s test
Wash hands
Expose wrist and place a pillow beneath it
Perform modified Allen’s test
With patient’s palm facing upwards, occlude both radial and ulnar arteries
Ask patient to open and close hand until the palm becomes pale, then ask them to hold it open
Release the ulnar artery and time how long the hand takes to reperfuse (i.e. become pink again)
If ≤10 seconds, continue with ABG
Preparation
Firmly hyper-extend the patient’s wrist (ask them, or hold it down yourself)
Palpate radial artery with index and middle fingers
Wash hands
Put on gloves
Sterilise area using skin-cleansing wipe (clean for 30 seconds, then allow to air-dry for 30 seconds)
Expel air from the heparinised syringe (only necessary for some ABG kits)
Sampling
With the index and middle fingers of your non-dominant hand, re-palpate the artery just proximal to the point of insertion
Holding the bevel of the needle as close to your non-dominant hand’s fingers as possible (without touching them), insert the needle (bevel up) into the site of pulsation, at 45˚ to the skin
When blood enters the syringe, hold it still while it self-fills (no need to aspirate)
Place gauze loosely over the puncture site while you remove the needle. Then apply pressure to the gauze once the needle is fully removed.
Secure needle with rubber block or needle cover
Maintain pressure over the gauze for 5 minutes. Check it has stopped bleeding before taping down the gauze.