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Vasovagal reactions are not uncommon when healthy young people undergo venipuncture or venous cannulation. This study found that changing the patient's position may prevent these symptoms.
The study enrolled 300 patients aged 18 to 40 who required placement of an intravenous cannula in the arm before minor outpatient surgery. The authors randomly assigned the patients to a sitting or lying position, and observers recorded physical signs and symptoms (e.g., nausea, dizziness, pallor) during cannula insertion.
Vagal symptoms and signs were significantly more common in the sitting than the lying position (12.6 percent vs. 2.1 percent). Frank syncope occurred in two patients, both of whom were sitting. Symptomatic patients were nearly five times …