Background
Arterial cannulation is usually indicated for both sampling and invasive pressure monitoring. Radial artery access is increasingly favored over other sites for arterial cannulation. However, radial cannulation in morbidly obese patients is an anesthetic challenge.
Results
Subcutaneous infiltration of the lignocaine-NTG mixture in the LN group resulted in a significant increase in arterial dimensions in comparison to lignocaine alone in the L group. Consequently, a significantly higher overall success rate, first attempt success was observed in the LN group. Also, insertion time and number of attempts were significantly lower in the LN group in relation to the L group.
Conclusions
Subcutaneous infiltration of nitroglycerin mixed with a lignocaine before ultrasound-guided radial artery cannulation increases the procedure success rate with no detected side effects.