The physician ordered an ABG on a 41-year-old patient with COPD. Before drawing the sample from the radial artery, which of the following should be performed?
belongs to book: ABG PRACTICE QUESTIONS|Respiratory Therapy Zone|| Chapter number:1| Question number:3
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Medicine
ALWAYS remember— whenever you’re going to stick an ABG in the radial artery, you first have to perform the modified Allen test in order to check for collateral circulation.
The test is performed by occluding the radial artery to check for circulation through the ulnar artery. That way, if something happens to the radial artery during an ABG stick, the hand will still be perfused via the ulnar artery.
None of the other answer choices are required before an ABG stick, so we know that the correct answer has to be B.
The correct answer is: B. Modified Allen test
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