Historically, capillary blood testing was done primarily on patients with inadequate veins for venipuncture. These included the very young or the very old, patients with damaged veins, burn victims, patients with arms in casts, chemotherapy patients, and obese patients, among others. With the advent of point-of-care testing (POCT) and the advances in emergency medicine, capillary blood testing is becoming increasingly common.
Capillary punctures require different devices than the typical venipuncture equipment. They include lancets, microcontainer tubes, microhematocrit tubes and sealants, and warming devices. Improper use of these devices may contribute to improper specimens and pre-examination errors.
On the following pages, we will present some of the innovations in capillary collection equipment.
