Abstract
Bruising after venepuncture is undesirable. To verify an apparent increase in bruising after introducing a new venepuncture system in a small district general hospital and to improve the venepuncture service two prospective audits of the incidence and severity of bruising after venepuncture were performed in two groups of 100 consecutive inpatients undergoing venepuncture by phlebotomists. In the first audit bruising was detected in 45 patients, of whom 34(76%) had bruises > 100 mm2 in area. After modification of the technique, whereby the phlebotomists ensured that haemostasis had been attained before leaving the patient, bruising was significantly reduced, occurring in 25 patients only 9 of whom (36%) had bruises > 100mm2 in area (both p < 0.01) in the second audit. Monitoring of standards and simple modification of technique resulted in significant reduction in incidence and severity of bruising, improving the quality of the venepuncture service.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Greenland P., Bowley N. L., Meiklejohn B., Doane K. L., Sparks C. E. Blood cholesterol concentration: fingerstick plasma vs venous serum sampling. Clin Chem. 1990 Apr;36(4):628–630. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Leppänen E. A. Experimental basis of standardized specimen collection: the effect of the site of venipuncture on the blood picture, the white blood cell differential count, and the serum albumin concentration. Eur J Haematol. 1988 Nov;41(5):445–448. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0609.1988.tb00225.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- McMullan A. D., Burns J., Paterson C. R. Venepuncture for calcium assays: should we still avoid the tourniquet? Postgrad Med J. 1990 Jul;66(777):547–548. doi: 10.1136/pgmj.66.777.547. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Shahar E., Wohl-Gottesman B. S., Shenkman L. Contamination of blood cultures during venepuncture: fact or myth? Postgrad Med J. 1990 Dec;66(782):1053–1058. doi: 10.1136/pgmj.66.782.1053. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]