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Blood sampling through peripheral venous catheters is reliable. |
A study published in Pediatrics shows that blood sampling can reliably be done through peripheral venous catheters that have already been used for intravenous fluids.
Taking a blood sample from a catheter that is already in place causes significantly less distress to children than a fresh venepuncture. However, there is concern that if solutions have been administered through the catheter they may contaminate the blood sample and lead to errors.
The study published in Pediatrics discarded the first 2ml of blood taken through a catheter. The paper concludes that for a range of basic tests such as electrolytes and full blood counts the samples taken through the catheters gave results that did not significantly differ from those obtained by venepuncture. However, the study did find that glucose measurements could not be relied upon as these tended to be higher when taken through the catheter.
Link to paper : CLICK HERE |
