The collection of a capillary blood specimen is often used on newborns and geriatric patients. The infant group is most susceptible to blood depletion, while the geriatric group there is a likely probability of vein fragility, difficulty in accessing veins, thrombotic tendencies, etc. Therefore, a dermal puncture is preferred over venipuncture where too much blood may be inadvertently collected.
In some facilities, the amount of blood obtained from a patient will be charted or recorded after every procedure. This may become part of the patient's medical record and is usually entered by the nursing staff. In these cases, the nurse will interact with the laboratory staff to advise them of the safe amount of blood that can be obtained.
