The problem with ABGs
Description
I recently came across the following recommendation in the 2017 British Thoracic Society (BTS) guideline for oxygen use in adults. It is a ‘Grade A recommendation’, which means that it is intended to be mandatory and should be incorporated into critical care pathways wherever possible. Here it is:
“Local anaesthesia should be used for all ABG specimens except in emergencies.”
I was surprised, because it seems that we hardly ever use local anaesthesia for arterial blood gas (ABG) sampling.
Then I started thinking about how often we do ABGs and how rarely they change management in any meaningful way. I’ll try to explain my point of view. Please refer to our website for detailed notes: www.the-breach.com
7 common reasons for doing needless ABGs
7 irritating things about ABGs
It's not all bad: what ABGs are good for
United States
