What is the most common complication of an arterial puncture
Victoria Simmons
Published Apr 22, 2026
The most common complication is hemorrhage or hematoma formation at the puncture site. This occurs more often in brachial and femoral punctures than in radial punctures.
What is the first choice and most commonly used site for arterial puncture?
Radial Artery. The radial artery is the preferred site for arterial puncture and cannulation.
What are the indications for arterial puncture?
- Respiratory failure – in acute and chronic states.
- Any severe illness which may lead to a metabolic acidosis – for example: Cardiac failure. Liver failure. Renal failure. …
- Ventilated patients.
- Sleep studies.
- Severely unwell patients from any cause – affects prognosis.
What do you do in case of accidental arterial puncture?
1: Raise your arm and apply firm pressure. 2: Go immediately to the Accident and Emergency department at your nearest hospital, ask someone to take you or dial 999 and take this information with you.What is the first choice for arterial puncture?
The first choice is the radial artery, which is located on the thumb side of the wrist; because of its small size, use of this artery requires extensive skill in arterial blood sampling.
What are the complications of radial artery puncture?
- Radial artery puncture is frequently performed in many EDs. …
- Common complications after radial artery cannulation include temporary radial artery occlusion (19.7%), hematoma (14.4%), infection (0.72%), hemorrhage (0.53%), and bacteremia (0.13%).
What are the complications of arterial puncture?
Arterial Puncture The most common complication is hemorrhage or hematoma formation at the puncture site. This occurs more often in brachial and femoral punctures than in radial punctures. Using the smallest gauge needle acceptable for the task helps decrease the risk of hemorrhage or hematoma formation.
What happens if you Cannulate artery?
Complications of entering the artery with a large cannula intended for venous cannulation can result in complications such as temporary occlusion, pseudoaneurysm and haematoma formation. [6] Unrecognized arterial injection of anaesthetic drugs can cause tissue ischaemia and necrosis.What are the disadvantages of arterial blood collection?
Collection of arterial blood has its disadvantages. It is more difficult to obtain than venous or capillary blood sample, it is more painful for the patient and it can be potentially dangerous, if the correct procedure is not followed (1).
Which test should perform an artery puncture?Puncture of the radial artery is the preferred method of obtaining an arterial blood sample for blood gas analysis. The chief indication for blood gas analysis is the need to obtain values for the partial pressures of oxygen and carbon dioxide and for arterial pH.
Article first time published onIn which condition arterial blood gas puncture is not commonly done?
Avoid puncture of the brachial artery or femoral artery in patients with diminished or absent distal pulses; the absence of distal pulses may signal severe peripheral vascular disease.
What artery is used for arterial puncture in infants?
In the neonate, arterial punctures done by the department of Respiratory Care Services should generally be limited to the radial artery. the policy authorizing arterial puncture, may do arterial punctures. The arterial puncture will be done at the request of the physician.
What can cause erroneous ABG values?
- Sample contaminated with bubbles. …
- Sample contaminated with venous blood.
- Sample clotted.
- Sample contains too much heparin (liquid heparin dilutes the sample, and causes pH changes)
- Haemolysis en route to the ABG analyser.
What effect does high WBC have on ABGS?
Leukemic patients with extremely high white blood counts may exhibit the phenomenon of leukocyte larceny, in which white blood cells metabolize plasma oxygen in arterial blood gas samples (ABG) producing a spuriously low oxygen tension.
Is arterial puncture painful?
Arterial punctures for arterial blood gases (ABGs) analysis are described as the most painful laboratory procedure and are performed without the benefit of pain management.
What is acute occlusion?
Acute arterial occlusion is synonymous with acute limb ischemia and is considered a vascular emergency. Acute limb ischemia is defined as a sudden loss of limb perfusion for up to 2 weeks after the initiating event. Acute arterial occlusion can occur in any peripheral artery of the upper and lower extremities.
What is radial artery occlusion?
Radial artery occlusion (RAO) is considered the most common and devastating complication of transradial approach (TRA). It has been described as the “Achilles’ heel” of the transradial technique. Our aim was to assess the incidence and predictors of radial artery occlusion after transradial coronary catheterization.
What are the complications of cardiac catheterization?
- Bleeding.
- Blood clots.
- Bruising.
- Damage to the artery, heart or the area where the catheter was inserted.
- Heart attack.
- Infection.
- Irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias)
- Kidney damage.
What are the areas to be avoided in performing capillary puncture?
The posterior heel and toe should be avoided as puncture sites because the distance between the skin surface and the bone in each case is only 2.33 or 2.19 mm, respectively, which means greater risk of bone damage (3, 13).
What is a skin puncture in phlebotomy?
Skin Puncture technique is used to obtain blood specimens when venipuncture or other collection methods are not appropriate. Blood specimens obtained by skin puncture are especially important in pediatrics, because small but adequate amounts of blood for laboratory tests can be obtained with this technique.
How do you know if you hit an artery instead of a vein?
You’ll know you hit an artery if: The plunger of your syringe is forced back by the pressure of the blood. When you register, the blood in your syringe is bright red and ‘gushing. ‘ Blood in veins is dark red, slow-moving, and “lazy.”
Can you accidentally start an IV in an artery?
One of the most dreaded complications of this procedure is an inadvertent intra-arterial cannulation. This can result in an accidental injection of medications intra-arterially, which can potentially lead to life altering consequences.
Can you give fluids through an arterial line?
ARTERIAL infusion is the injection of blood, or other fluid, into an artery through a needle or cannula directed toward the heart. The fluid flows in a retrograde direction against the normal arterial current.
What happens when a blood vessel is punctured?
A penetrating injury can occur when a blood vessel is punctured, torn or severed. Either type of vascular trauma can cause the blood vessel to clot (thrombosis) and interrupt blood flow to an organ or extremity, or cause bleeding which can lead to life-threatening hemorrhage.
What will happen if you pull back the syringe too forcefully?
Gently pulling on the plunger creates just enough vacuum needed to draw blood into the syringe. If the plunger is pulled back too quickly, pressure may collapse the vein.
What are the potential complications of the ABG collection procedure?
- Local hematoma.
- Arterial vasospasm.
- Arterial occlusion.
- Air or thrombus embolism.
- Local anesthetic anaphylactic reaction.
- Infection at the puncture site.
- Needle-stick injury to healthcare personnel.
- Vessel laceration.
Which serious condition is indicated by the patient's arterial blood gas analysis?
An arterial blood gases (ABG) test is done to: Check for severe breathing problems and lung diseases, such as asthma, cystic fibrosis, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). See how well treatment for lung diseases is working.
What are the possible changes in arterial blood gases?
The most common ABG abnormalities detected relate to an excess of acid. This can either be as a result of the lungs not working properly (called respiratory acidosis) or from a build-up of acid from metabolic causes, usually as a result of tissues being starved of oxygen (called a metabolic acidosis).
Why is Allen's test done?
The Allen test is a first-line standard test used to assess the arterial blood supply of the hand. This test is performed whenever intravascular access to the radial artery is planned or for selecting patients for radial artery harvesting, such as for coronary artery bypass grafting or for forearm flap elevation.
Can you take ABG from ulnar artery?
ABSTRACT A simple and effective technique is described for monitoring arterial pressures and blood gases using the ulnar artery at the wrist. This method can be used for up to five to seven days postoperatively and is admirably suited to adult patients.
What is capillary blood gas?
CBGS 2.0 DESCRIPTION: Capillary blood gas (CBG) samples may be used in place of samples from arterial punctures or. indwelling arterial catheters to estimate acid-base balance (pH) and adequacy of ventilation. (PaCO2).(1-3) Capillary PO2 measurements are of little value in estimating arterial oxygenation.