Effect of nitroglycerin ointment placement on headache and flushing in healthy subjects.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of site of nitroglycerin ointment placement on headache and flushing in healthy subjects. Twenty-six subjects were given two doses of nitroglycerin ointment 3 hr apart in a randomly assigned arm-chest sequence or chest-arm sequence. Subject reports of headache and flushing using the visual analogue scale were recorded. There were no significant differences in headache or flushing based on the site or sequence of placement. Thus, the practice by nurses of routinely teaching patients to vary the site of nitroglycerin ointment placement to minimize side-effects must be questioned.