Capillary Puncture Equipment and Procedure

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Created by
Angelo Novenario

Cards (38)

  • Capillary Puncture

    Method that uses a lancet to make a small incision into the capillary bed to obtain a small volume of blood specimen
  • Type of equipment for capillary specimen collection
    • Lancet / Incision Devices
    • Laser Lancet
    • Microcollection Container / Microtube
    • Microhematocrit Tubes and Sealants
    • Microscope Slides
    • Warming Devices
    • Capillary Blood Gas (CBG) Equipment
  • Lancet / Incision Devices

    Sterile, sharp instruments used for making cuts in the skin for finger or heel puncture
  • Laser Lancet

    Produces hole in the skin by vaporizing water in the skin, eliminates the risk of sharp injury
  • Microhematocrit Tubes

    Plastic or glass used for hematocrit determinations, one end is sealed with sealants made up of clay or plastic
  • Arterial Blood

    Bright red blood and is the oxygenated blood in the circulatory system
  • Venous Blood

    Dark red in color because it is deoxygenated
  • Capillary Blood

    Preferred specimen for infants, young children, elderly patients, and patients with severe burns
  • Interstitial fluid

    Fills the spaces around the cells
  • Intercellular fluid

    Found inside the cells and facilitates the movement of fluid in the membrane and blocks the entrance of unwanted materials
  • Indications for performing capillary puncture on adults, children, and infants
    • Veins are fragile and not accessible
    • Veins are reserved for another procedure
    • Clotting tendencies
    • Extreme fear of needles
    • Veins will be used for glucose monitoring or OGTT
  • Reasons why capillary puncture is preferred for infants and young children
    • Health risks such as anemia and cardiac arrest
    • Requires only small amount of blood
    • Venipuncture could damage veins and tissues
    • Puncturing could result to hemorrhage, thrombosis, gangrene, and infections
    • Risk of injury
    • Capillary blood is the preferred specimen
  • Capillary puncture should NOT be used for ESR, blood cultures and studies that need plasma specimen or have large volume specimen requirement
  • Capillary Puncture Steps
    1. Review and check accession test request
    2. Identify the patient
    3. Verify diet restrictions and latex sensitivity
    4. Put gloves
    5. Position the patient
    6. Select the puncture site
    7. Warm the site
    8. Clean the site
    9. Prepare equipment
    10. Puncture the site and discard the lancet
    11. First blood drop should be wiped away
    12. Fill and mix tubes
    13. Place gauze and apply pressure
    14. Label the specimen
    15. Dispose the used materials
  • Thick blood smear

    Used to determine if the patient has malaria
  • Thin blood smear

    Used to help doctors identify the species of malaria that is causing an infection
  • Capillary blood tests

    • Capillary blood gas
    • Neonatal bilirubin collection
    • Newborn / Neonatal screening
  • Newborn / Neonatal screening

    Routine check for infants to determine inborn errors such as phenylketonuria, hypothyroidism, galactosemia, and cystic fibrosis
  • Newborn screening blood spot collection is done 24 - 48 hours after the baby is born
  • Capillary Puncture

    Method that uses a lancet to make a small incision into the capillary bed to obtain a small volume of blood specimen
  • Type of equipment for capillary specimen collection
    • Lancet / Incision Devices
    • Laser Lancet
    • Microcollection Container / Microtube
    • Microhematocrit Tubes and Sealants
    • Microscope Slides
    • Warming Devices
    • Capillary Blood Gas (CBG) Equipment
  • Lancet / Incision Devices

    Sterile, sharp instruments used for making cuts in the skin for finger or heel puncture
  • Laser Lancet

    Produces hole in the skin by vaporizing water in the skin, eliminates the risk of sharp injury
  • Microhematocrit Tubes

    Plastic or glass used for hematocrit determinations, one end is sealed with sealants made up of clay or plastic
  • Arterial Blood
    Bright red blood and is the oxygenated blood in the circulatory system
  • Venous Blood

    Dark red in color because it is deoxygenated
  • Capillary Blood

    Preferred specimen for infants, young children, elderly patients, and patients with severe burns
  • Interstitial fluid

    Fills the spaces around the cells
  • Intercellular fluid

    Found inside the cells and facilitates the movement of fluid in the membrane and blocks the entrance of unwanted materials
  • Indications for performing capillary puncture on adults, children, and infants
    • Veins are fragile and not accessible
    • Veins are reserved for another procedure
    • Clotting tendencies
    • Extreme fear of needles
    • Veins will be used for glucose monitoring or OGTT
  • Reasons why capillary puncture is preferred for infants and young children
    • Health risks such as anemia and cardiac arrest
    • Requires only small amount of blood
    • Venipuncture could damage veins and tissues
    • Puncturing could result to hemorrhage, thrombosis, gangrene, and infections
    • Risk of injury
    • Capillary blood is the preferred specimen
  • Capillary puncture should NOT be used for ESR, blood cultures and studies that need plasma specimen or have large volume specimen requirement
  • Capillary Puncture Steps

    1. Review and check accession test request
    2. Identify the patient
    3. Verify diet restrictions and latex sensitivity
    4. Put gloves
    5. Position the patient
    6. Select the puncture site
    7. Warm the site
    8. Clean the site
    9. Prepare equipment
    10. Puncture the site and discard the lancet
    11. First blood drop should be wiped away
    12. Fill and mix tubes
    13. Place gauze and apply pressure
    14. Label the specimen
    15. Dispose the used materials
  • Thick blood smear

    Used to determine if the patient has malaria
  • Thin blood smear

    Used to help doctors identify the species of malaria that is causing an infection
  • Capillary blood tests

    • Capillary blood gas
    • Neonatal bilirubin collection
    • Newborn / Neonatal screening
  • Newborn / Neonatal screening

    Routine check for infants to determine inborn errors such as phenylketonuria, hypothyroidism, galactosemia, and cystic fibrosis
  • Newborn screening blood spot collection is done 24 - 48 hours after the baby is born