As is the case with regular venipuncture tubes, all capillary blood tubes must be properly labeled and confirmed at the patient's bedside before leaving the room. Included on the label should be at least the first and last name of the patient, the medical record or identification number, the date and time of collection, the initials of the person collecting the specimen, and any other information required by the collecting facility.
Many capillary blood containers are too small to label with bar-coded labels. Therefore, special care needs to be taken. Labeling options may include manually labeling and placing the microtube inside an empty large red-top tube that is labeled with the patient's information. Some manufactures provide a "tube extender" which attaches to the bottom of the microtube, increases the tube length to the size of a regular tube, and provides a larger area for specimen labeling. Regardless, a healthcare provider should follow the appropriate labeling procedures of their facility.
