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Arterialised earlobe blood gas analysis: an underused technique
A D Pitkin1, C M Roberts, J A Wedzicha
1Department of Thoracic Medicine, London Chest Hospital.
Thorax
|April 1, 1994
Summary
Arterialised earlobe blood gas analysis accurately substitutes for arterial sampling in patients with chronic lung disease. However, most UK centers do not use this technique due to lack of knowledge and perceived inaccuracy.
Area of Science:
- Respiratory Medicine
- Clinical Pathology
Background:
- Arterialised capillary blood sampling from the earlobe was described over 20 years ago.
- Despite demonstrated agreement with arterial values in healthy subjects, earlobe sampling is not widely used.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the accuracy of earlobe blood gas analysis compared to arterial blood gas analysis in patients with chronic lung disease.
- To determine the current usage and barriers to adoption of the earlobe technique in UK hospitals.
Main Methods:
- Simultaneous earlobe and arterial blood samples were collected from 40 patients with chronic lung disease.
- Blood gas analysis was performed using the same analyzer for both sample types.
- A survey of 50 UK hospitals assessed the use and reasons for non-use of the earlobe technique.
Main Results:
- Earlobe and arterial blood gas tensions showed close agreement across a wide range of pH, PCO2, and PO2 values, particularly at PO2 < 8 kPa.
- 18% of surveyed UK centers used the earlobe technique, with 4% planning to adopt it.
- Primary reasons for non-use included lack of knowledge (64%) and perceived inaccuracy (4%).
Conclusions:
- Earlobe blood gas analysis is accurate enough for routine clinical substitution of arterial sampling.
- Widespread underutilization in the UK is attributed to unfamiliarity and doubts about accuracy.