title: Correlation between capillary and arterial blood gas parameters in an ED.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Sampling from arteries for the analysis of blood gases is a common procedure in emergency departments (ED). The procedure is painful for the patients and causes concern for the medical personnel due to possible complications, such as hematoma, infection, ischemia, and formation of fistula or aneurism. The present study compared the results of capillary and arterial blood gases analyses (CBG and ABG) to emphasizing a less aggressive technique with the fewest complications for this procedure.
  
  
  METHODS
  In the comparative/analytical study, the results of ABG and CBG for 187 patients referring to the ED of a teaching hospital were compared using SPSS 18 statistical software (SPSS, Chicago, IL) in relation to the mean partial pressure of oxygen (Po(2)), partial pressure of carbon dioxide (Pco(2)), base excess (BE), bicarbonate (HCO(3)), serum acidity (pH), and saturation of hemoglobin oxygen (SaO(2)).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Saturation of hemoglobin oxygen, HCO(3), pH, Pco(2), Po(2), and BE exhibited significant statistical correlation between ABG and CBG (P = .001). The average correlations between capillary and arterial samples were 0.78 for pH, 0.73 for Pco(2), 0.71 for BE, 0.90 for HCO(3), 0.77 for Po(2), and 0.52 for SaO(2). Comparison of the parameters means did not exhibit significant differences between arterial and capillary samples except for Po(2) and SaO(2) (P > .05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There appear to be strong correlation between samples collected from the finger tip capillaries with the arterial blood samples in relation to the analysis of blood gas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Imam Hosain Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Kamran
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Heidari
authors.forename: Hamidreza
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hatamabadi
authors.forename: Nader
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ansarian
authors.forename: Mostafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alavi-Moghaddam
authors.forename: Afshin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Amini
authors.forename: Saeed
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Safari
authors.forename: Parvin
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Darbandsar Mazandarani
authors.forename: Alireza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vafaee
mesh_terms: D000137:Acid-Base Imbalance / Q000097:blood; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001158:Arteries; D001639:Bicarbonates / Q000097:blood*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001800:Blood Specimen Collection / Q000379:methods*; D002196:Capillaries; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D001639:Bicarbonates; D015415:Biomarkers; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D010100:Oxygen