Dermal Puncture and Capillary Blood Collection

Dermal Puncture and Capillary Blood Collection is organized by MediaLab, Inc.

Course Overview:
Phlebotomists and point-of-care instrument operators (laboratory, nursing and respiratory therapy personnel) frequently need to perform dermal punctures to collect capillary blood specimens for testing. This course discusses procedures that should be used to ensure a successful and safe heelstick on an infant or fingerstick on an older child or adult. The course also highlights several tests that use capillary blood where collection technique is particularly important to obtain a quality specimen, including metabolic testing on newborns, capillary blood gases, and lead levels.

Objectives:
• Define venous, arterial and capillary blood.
• Locate the acceptable sites for puncture and collection of capillary blood on a finger and infant heel.
• Identify and select the appropriate dermal puncture device and other equipment needed to perform capillary blood collection on adults, children and infants.
• List and explain all procedural steps required to positively identify the patient and safely perform a capillary puncture.
• Discuss risks and special circumstances associated with the dermal puncture procedure.

Course Outline:
• Introduction
     • Introduction
• Safety First
    • Protect Yourself and Your Patient
    • Which of these pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) is always required when a dermal puncture is performed to collect a capillary blood speci...
• Get Ready for the Collection
   • What is the difference?
    • Venous, Arterial, and Capillary Blood Specimens
    • Dermal Puncture vs Venipuncture
    • Which of these patients may NOT be a candidate for capillary blood collection by dermal puncture?
  • Site Selection
    • Using the Fingers for Dermal Puncture
    • Using the Heel for Dermal Puncture
    • The recommended finger for capillary blood collection is the index finger (the finger next to the thumb).
  • Equipment Needed
    • Puncture Devices
    • Miscellaneous Equipment
    • A heel puncture that is performed on a small infant should not exceed what depth?
• Obtaining the Specimen
    • Patient Identification
    • Site Preparation
    • Let Gravity Be Your Friend
    • Finger Puncture
    • Heel Puncture
    • Properly Filling and Mixing a Microcollection Container
    • Order of Draw
    • Positioning the Puncture Device for a Fingerstick
    • Which of these methods should be used to verify the identification of an infant in the nursery prior to collecting a blood specimen?
    • A lavender top microcollection container that has EDTA as an anticoagulant is used to collect a capillary hematology specimen for a complete blood cou...
  • Procedure Notes and Cautions
    • Oh No...The Blood Has Stopped Flowing
    • Inappropriate Sites/Patients for Capillary Puncture
    • Infants and Geriatric Patients: Monitor the Amount of Blood Obtained
    • Protect Me From the Light
    • If blood has stopped flowing from the finger puncture site, you should re-puncture the same site to re-establish the blood flow.
• Special Circumstances
  • Filter paper Collection
    • The Need for Metabolic Testing on Newborns
    • Capillary Blood Collection for Metabolic Testing
    • Processing Filter Cards after Collection
    • The directions for this testing facility require filling all five circles on the filter card.Which of the cards that were collected for metabolic test...
  • Specialized Capillary Blood Testing
    • Hematology Specimens
    • Capillary Blood Gases
    • A patient has an order for microhematocrit testing. Which of the following should be collected for this testing?
  • Lead Collection
    • Lead: An Important Public Health Concern
  • Sucrose Solution
    • Using Sucrose as an Analgesic Prior to Heel Puncture and Capillary Blood Collection
• References
    • References