Venous Versus Arterial Blood Gas Sampling in Undifferentiated Emergency Patients

Patients included in this study are treated according to clinical routine. After inclusion, sampling of an arterial blood gas and a venous blood gas is performed simultaneously or as close in time as possible. Because the venous blood gas analysis sample can be taken directly from the patient's peripheral venous catheter, no additional venous puncture is usually required and the additional amount of blood that may be required is approx. 1 ml (the assay requires about 500 µl). In the very rare cases where it is not possible to establish a peripheral venous catheter within a reasonable time, the sample will be acquired from a new venous puncture together with other venous routine samples.