Blood sampling through peripheral venous catheters is reliable for selected basic analytes in children.

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Phlebotomy Techniques
• Clinical Pathology
• Laboratory Medicine

Background:

• Venipuncture blood sampling (BS) in children can be painful and distressing.
• Peripheral venous catheters (PVCs) are often in place for medication administration in hospitalized children.
• Assessing the utility of existing PVCs for routine blood sampling is crucial for patient comfort and efficient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the interchangeability of blood samples obtained via peripheral venous catheter (PVC) versus traditional venipuncture (BS) in pediatric patients.
• To compare the accuracy of complete blood count (CBC) and basic chemistry indices between the two sampling methods.
• To assess patient distress and procedural time associated with each blood sampling technique.

Main Methods:

• Paired blood samples were collected from hospitalized children using both existing PVCs and venipuncture.
• A small volume (2 mL) of blood was discarded from PVCs before sample collection.
• Nine complete blood count indices and five basic chemical analysis indices were compared, along with documentation of hemolysis.

Main Results:

• Blood samples were successfully obtained from 85.1% of PVCs without abnormal hemolysis.
• Venipuncture BS took significantly longer and was associated with substantially more patient distress (73.1% crying) compared to PVC sampling (0%).
• Most CBC and chemistry indices showed no significant differences between PVC and venipuncture samples, though 6% fell outside acceptable variance, primarily glucose.

Conclusions:

• Peripheral venous catheter blood sampling is a viable, pain-reducing method for obtaining selected basic analytes in pediatric patients.
• The findings for glucose measurements from PVCs were unreliable and should not be used.
• PVC sampling offers a less distressing and potentially more efficient alternative to venipuncture for routine pediatric blood tests, excluding glucose.