Peripheral venous catheter blood sampling: a prospective observational study

Abstract

BACKGROUND: 
The peripheral venous catheter is a device inserted to deliver fluids into the bloodstream. Patients often face repeated examinations to monitor their health status and the progress of therapy, and these include numerous venipunctures to collect blood samples, which cause them pain and discomfort. In order to reduce discomfort, the standard butterfly needle procedure can be substituted for the peripheral venous catheter sampling procedure.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: 
A prospective observational study was conducted in which 207 patients in whom venous sampling was required were included. Descriptive statistics analyzed the collected data.

RESULTS: 
The performance of the procedure tested is of success with some difficulties, such as the performance of the initial discard; in the case of an unsuccessful procedure, the one that is repeated in frequency compared to the others is the aspiration of the initial discard absent. Haemolysis was found to be frequent and is more common in clinical chemistry.

CONCLUSIONS: 
This study revealed new questions inherent in the performance of the peripheral cannula venous sampling technique and data inherent in the hemolysis rate and, thus, the procedure's success. This data opens up new insights in the future for a more in-depth analysis of the determinants leading to this phenomenon. Nevertheless, the procedure seems a good alternative to the standard butterfly needle technique for reducing pain in emergency settings.