Nitroglycerin to Facilitate Radial Arterial Catheter Insertion in Children
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2019-11-30
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Local nitroglycerin (NTG) was successfully used as a vasodilator to facilitate cannulation of
the radial artery. NTG was used in adults by topical application as well as subcutaneous
infiltration. Subcutaneous infiltration of NTG resulted in significant vasodilatation,
improved palpability of the radial artery, reduced the number of punctures and the time
needed for cannulation in adults. Topical NTG was reported to increase radial artery diameter
in healthy volunteers without reduction in arterial blood pressure. In pediatric population,
there no sufficient evidence for the effectiveness of NTG in improving radial artery
cannulation. In a case report on two neonates, topical nitroderm ointment successfully
reversed tissue ischemia secondary to radial artery cannulation The aim of this work is to
evaluate the use of topical NTG (patch) for increasing the diameter of radial artery,
improving the cannulation success, and decreasing catheter-related ischemic complications.