Doctors in the emergency department often need to take blood samples from an artery to understand how well a patient is breathing and how the body is responding to serious illness. This is usually done by inserting a needle into an artery at the wrist. In patients with shock, this procedure can be difficult because blood pressure is low and the pulse may be hard to feel.
In this study, two different methods for obtaining arterial blood samples were compared in adult patients presenting to the emergency department with shock. In one group, the radial artery puncture was performed with ultrasound guidance, allowing direct visualization of the artery. In the other group, the procedure was carried out using the conventional palpation technique based on manual detection of the pulse.
Patients were randomly assigned to one of the two techniques. The study assessed the success of the procedure on the first attempt, the total number of attempts required, the time needed to obtain a successful sample, and whether puncture of the femoral artery was required when radial access could not be achieved.
The aim of the study was to evaluate whether the use of ultrasound improves the efficiency and success of radial artery blood sampling in patients with shock treated in the emergency department.