The effects of Valsalva manoeuvres on venepuncture pain.
OBJECTIVE
Stimulating the vagus nerve reduces pain. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a Valsalva manoeuvre, which stimulates the vagus nerve, on perception of pain during peripheral venous cannulation in adult patients.


METHODS
This was a prospective randomized clinical trial. One hundred and ten patients scheduled for elective surgery were randomly divided into two groups. Half of the patients, Group A, underwent venepuncture during a Valsalva manoeuvre and the other half of the patients, Group B, underwent venepuncture without performing a Valsalva manoeuvre. Patients made a pain assessment using a 0-10 point numerical rating scale.


RESULTS
The numerical rating scale score was 1.5+/-1.2 for Group A and 3.1+/-1.9 for Group B, the difference being statistically significant (P<0.0001).


CONCLUSIONS
On the basis of data from this study, the Valsalva manoeuvre may be of the value before venous cannulation as a simple and practical method to reduce pain from venous cannulation.
Basaranoglu
G
G
Vakif Gureba Hospital, Department of Anaesthesiology, Istanbul, and Selcuk University School of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Konya, Turkey. gbasaranoglu@hotmail.com
Basaranoglu
M
M
Erden
V
V
Delatioglu
H
H
Pekel
A F
AF
Saitoglu
L
L
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D010146:Pain / Q000503:physiopathology; D059408:Pain Management; D014630:Vagus Nerve / Q000502:physiology*; D014636:Valsalva Maneuver