EFFECTS OF UNANESTHETIZED ARTERIAL PUNCTURE ON PCO2 AND PH

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Abstract
Painful unanesthetized arterial puncture may produce transient hyperventilation, and this hyperventilation may alter resting values of arterial pH and PCO2. This possibility was investigated by comparing pH and PCO2 [CO2 partial pressure] values of blood samples obtained by arterial puncture with values of arterialized venous blood obtained by a painless method. In 19 consecutive humans virtually no difference in pH or PCO2 resulted from an arterial puncture that could not be attributed to the inherent precision of the measuring instrument. Mean .+-. SEM [standard error of the mean] pH was identical (7.45 .+-. 0.05) both before and during an arterial puncture, as was PCO2 (34.4 .+-. 1.2 mm Hg). The variation (SD) in PCO2 within an individual subject was .+-. 1.7 mm Hg, which was almost identical to the inherent precision of the Radiometer ABL-2 acid base laboratory (SD .+-. 1.32). Unanesthetized arterial puncture provides an accurate measurement of resting pH and PCO2.

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