RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Reducing pain by using venous blood gas instead of arterial blood gas (VEINART): a multicentre randomised controlled trial JF Emergency Medicine Journal JO Emerg Med J FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and the British Association for Accident & Emergency Medicine SP 756 OP 761 DO 10.1136/emermed-2019-209287 VO 37 IS 12 A1 Chauvin, Anthony A1 Javaud, Nicolas A1 Ghazali, Aiham A1 Curac, Sonja A1 Altar, Adrien A1 Ali, Talina A1 Beguin, Nora A1 Bellier, Julien A1 Coupier, Antoine A1 Delsarte, Laura A1 Dreyfuss, Dora A1 Kheirbek, Nour A1 Oudar, Clara A1 Stordeur, Yoann A1 Weiss, Morgane A1 Gaudry, Stephane A1 Lambert, Jerome A1 Roux, Damien YR 2020 UL http://emj.bmj.com/content/37/12/756.abstract AB Introduction Venous sampling for blood gas analysis has been suggested as an alternative to arterial sampling in order to reduce pain. The main objective was to compare pain induced by venous and arterial sampling and to assess whether the type of sampling would affect clinical management or not.Methods We performed an open-label randomised multicentre prospective study in four French EDs during a 4-week period. Non-hypoxaemic adults, whose medical management required blood gas analysis, were randomly allocated using a computer-generated randomisation list stratified by centres with an allocation ratio of 1:1 using random blocks to one of the two arms: venous or arterial sampling. The primary outcome was the maximal pain during sampling, using the visual analogue scale. Secondary outcomes pertained to ease of sampling as rated by the nurse drawing the blood, and physician satisfaction regarding usefulness of biochemical data.Results 113 patients were included: 55 in the arterial and 58 in the venous sampling group. The mean maximal pain was 40.5 mm±24.9 mm and 22.6 mm±20.2 mm in the arterial group and the venous group, respectively, accounting for a mean difference of 17.9 mm (95% CI 9.6 to 26.3) (p<0.0001). Ease of blood sampling was greater in the venous group as compared with the arterial group (p=0.02). The usefulness of the results, evaluated by the prescriber, did not significantly differ (p=0.25).Conclusions Venous blood gas is less painful for patients than ABG in non-hypoxaemic patients. Venous blood gas should replace ABG in this setting.Trial registration number NCT03784664.