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THE MATERIALS NEEDED FOR A VENIPUNCTURE

The barrel used during blood sampling

The sampling centers usually use sole utilization barrels or a barrel endowed with a quick trigger, which is easy to handle with one hand only.

The quick trigger barrel is used by countless health facilities, as it is reusable thanks to its needle trigger and to its safety during handling. It was designed to minimize the accidental injury risks during blood sampling.

The trigger-equipped barrel is handled with one hand only by the phlebotomist who triggers it for putting the contaminated needle into the Biorisk tank for cutting or stinging objects.

the needles

‘Caliber’ actually represents the needle diameter. The finer a needle diameter, the larger the number of gauges. Vice-versa, the bigger the needle diameter (in gauges), the smaller that needle caliber. Let us take for instance a 22 G caliber needle : the needle diameter is smaller than the 21 G caliber needle.

There are several needle calibers available and used by registered nurses and by other professionals authorized to perform blood sampling operations. The blood sampling responsible nurses may select both the caliber and the length of a needle, subject to their needs.

NEEDLE CALIBERS THAT MAY BE USED FOR BLOOD SAMPLING

21 G needle x 1" (0.8 x 25 mm). The color of the protective cap is green.
22 G needle x 1" (0.7 x 25 mm). The color of the protective cap is black.
21 G needle x 1" 1/4 (1.25 inch long). The color of the protective cap is green.
21 G needle x 1" 1/4 (1.25 inch long). The color of the protective cap is black.

There are also some other types of needles that can be a good choice for difficult venous sampling,

for instance the needles endowed with a device with little wings and an activating button (commonly called ‘butterfly needle’).

AVAILABLE GAUGE CALIBERS

Gauge de 23G x 3/4
Gauge de 25G x 3/4
Gauge de 21G x 3/4

These activating button-equipped units with automatic security from the BD Vacutainer company have been designed for delicate or difficult veins. The person that takes blood is thus protected from getting accidentally stung if he/she uses these little winged-needles endowed with a push-button. The nurse presses the push-button from the little winged-needle right after the needle is withdrawn from the patient’s vein. Once carried out, this technique is irreversible.

THE TOURNIQUET

The tourniquet is used as a device meant to stop a hemorrhage on a part of the human body. As regards blood sampling, it however has got a really specific function.

The tourniquet used for blood sampling is first of all squeezed all around the patient’s forearm, approximately 10 cm above the place where the venous puncture is to be made. The blood sampling professional can then test-feel, touch and choose the right place for blood sampling.

The role of the tourniquet is to make a patient’s veins swallow up in his/her arm, by exerting a pressure on a part of the human body in order to reduce its volume. The tourniquet is only allowed to be applied on a patient’s arm between the shoulder and the wrist.

It is important to specify that the tourniquet is not to be left on the arm for more than one minute, because the blood test results run the risk of being hemolyzed, thus leading to erroneous results.

THE TUBES FOR BLOOD SAMPLING

There are several kinds of tubes than may be used for taking blood samples : either made of glass (the most commonly used ones) or of polymer (unbreakable). These tubes protect from blood spilling in case of breaking.

EXAMPLES OF TUBES

Green and red hemoculture bottles
Serum red tubes
Citrate royal blue tubes
EDTA lavender tubes
SST yellow tubes with a gel
Sodium fluoride grey tubes
Forest green tubes with heparin

All the blood tubes are for biological tests that enable accurate laboratory results. The procedure linked to tube order and reversal is to be complied with in order to provide accurate blood tests.

In case of the laboratory tests, a pre-test process, adequate transportation and sample processing need to be observed in order to issue reliable results for physicians, so that they can set up a correct medical diagnosis.

THE TUBE ORDER AND THE NUMBER OF REVERSALS SUGGESTED

For hemocultures : 8 to 10 times
The citrate royal blue tube : 3 to 4 times
The serum red tube or the separating gel tube : 3 to 4 times
The forest green tube with heparin or the light green tube with separating gel : 5 times
The EDTA lavender tube : 8 to 10 times
The grey tube with fluoride : 8 to 10 times

THE ANTISEPTICS

The 70 % isopropyl alcohol-saturated antiseptic swabs are regularly used to disinfect the place where the venous puncture is to take place. The health professional rubs the area with the alcohol-imbibed swab, making circular moves from the outside towards the inside, being aware that he/she must finish disinfecting in the middle of the blood sampling area.

NON STERILE OR COTTON WOOL COMPRESSES

A compress is composed of a woven hydrophilic fabric and sometimes of woven cotton.

Within blood sampling, the compresses role is to absorb the blood ; they thus do not need to be sterile. The care taking nurse uses the compress to exert pressure once the needle is taken out of the vein.

NON STERILE GLOVES

The gloves can be made of thermoplastic polymers or of latex. There are all sizes of gloves available, from small ones to big ones. Glove wearing is a good means of protection against blood exposure.