Table 1.
Patients’ characteristics by age group
| Adolescents (13–17 years) | Older children (8–12 years) | Younger children (4–7 years) | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of patients | 63 | 48 | 25 | |
| Sex, n (%) | ||||
| Female | 42 (66.7) | 22 (45.8) | 10 (40.0) | |
| Affected by a chronic disease, n (%) | 10 (15.9) | 3 (6.3) | 2 (8.0) | 0.3** |
| Needle-related procedures in the last 12 months, median (IQR) | 1 (0–2) | 0 (0–1) | 0 (0–1) | 0.2* |
| Reported previous negative experiences with needle-related procedures, n (%) | 7 (11.1) | 2 (4.3) | 1 (4.2) | 0.4** |
| Number of procedures performed by the operator in the previous month, n (%) | ||||
| < 5 | 12 (19.0) | 7 (14.6) | 2 (8.0) | 0.7** |
| 5–10 | 2 (3.2) | 1 (2.1) | 0 (0.0) | |
| > 10 | 49 (77.8) | 40 (83.3) | 23 (92.0) | |
| Location, n (%) | ||||
| Forearm | 4 (6.4) | 1 (2.1) | 0 (0.0) | 0.01** |
| Cubital fossa | 43 (68.3) | 28 (58.3) | 9 (36.0) | |
| Hand | 16 (25.4) | 19 (39.6) | 16 (64.0) | |
| Number of operators during procedures, median (IQR) | 2 (2–3) | 2 (2–3) | 2 (2–3) | 0.1* |
| First attempt success, n (%) | 57 (90.5) | 38 (79.2) | 22 (88.0) | 0.2** |
*Kruskal Wallis test
**Chi-square or Fisher test, as appropriate