Arterial Puncture Using Insulin Syringe is Less Painful Than Standard Syringe

Arterial Puncture Using Insulin Syringe is Less Painful Than Standard Syringe, a Randomized Crossover Study

Status

Completed

Phases

Phase 2

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT01996189

Enrollment

Registered

2013-11-27

Start date

2012-05-31

Completion date

2013-03-31

Last updated

2013-11-27

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Pain

Brief summary

The primary objective is to compare the difference in the pain score in radial arterial puncture using the insulin needle versus the standard 23G hypodermic needle.

Detailed description

In a randomised, crossover design, healthy volunteers were recruited to receive bilateral radial arterial punctures. They were assigned to receive either the insulin or the standard needle as the first puncture using block randomisation. The primary outcome was the pain score measured on a 100mm visual analogue scale (VAS) and the secondary outcomes were procedural complications and rate of haemolysis.

Interventions

DEVICEStandard needle BBraun Sterican® 23G and 25mm in length

Arterial puncture using the hypodermic needle (BBraun Sterican® 23G and 25mm in length) attached to a 3 ml syringe.

DEVICEInsulin

Arterial puncture using the insulin syringe (Terumo®- 0.5 ml with attached needle 29G and 13mm in length)

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

CROSSOVER

Primary purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

DOUBLE (Subject, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

21 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* age above 21

Exclusion criteria

* concurrent antipyretic use in the last 24 hrs, * presence of painful conditions eg fracture, rheumatoid arthritis * history of peripheral vascular disease

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Visual analogue scale (VAS) score in millimetres	Immediately after each puncture ( average within 5 minutes)	Immediately following the radial arterial punctures the outcome assessor asked the volunteer to assess the discomfort that was caused by the puncture. The volunteer was asked to place a slash on a 100 mm VAS sheet. The VAS showed no pain at 0 mm and worst pain at 100 mm.

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
blood haemolysis	Immediately after collection	The serum collected during the punctures was analysed for the amount of free haemoglobin. We define presence of haemolysis as free haemoglobin concentration of more than 100 mg/dL.

Countries

Singapore

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026