Cryospray to Reduce Pain During Venous Cannulation

Venous cannulation is a common practice in the health care system. Before any procedure, intravenous access is always placed before induction of any anaesthesia. For many patients placement of a venous catheter is associated with pain and discomfort. Any quick and easy reduction in pain during the procedure is important for patients. Cryospray has been described as an easy-to-use supplement of analgesia to alleviate pain during intravenous access. Cryospray has been shown to reduce pain in venous cannulation in the emergency setting but not in the elective setting. A search in the literature reveals 2 recent metanalyses reporting 8 included trials and 11 included trials, respectively. Both metanalyses call for further research in relation to patients' satisfaction. By randomizing patients to either cryospray or placebo before venous cannulation, we hypothesize that cryospray reduces pain during venous cannulation compared to placebo.