Blood Collection for Epidural Blood Patch

[BlueBird4]

Hi everyone. I work for a small pain management practice where we also provide interventional procedures to our patients.

I am the only RN at our clinic, first and only nursing job.

For those of you out there with experience collecting blood for the blood patch procedure, could you provide me with a little more insight as to the procedure itself? I know the blood must be collected using sterile technique, however I've never received training on this, let alone seen this done. I'm very nervous for the first time I'm called upon to perform this.

Any help is much appreciated! Thanks!

[TraumaORnurse]

While I don't have nursing experience in it, I have had my fair share of epidural blood patches. Each one I've had done, the blood was drawn into a syringe just like you would draw blood for labs. Each time they have established an IV, then drawn the blood off it. With one exception, the access was obtained prior to the needle bring placed in my back, then the doctor had the nurse draw the blood. This was to prevent the blood from coagulating before it could be injected. The one time that wasn't the case, it was being done at my bedside and the doctor did not have a nurse to assist (gotta love being sick & in the hospital on a holiday weekend!). He placed the needle in my back, then proceeded to stick me 32 times before he'd had enough and called a lab tech, who got it first stick. I coulda killed him, but he already had the needle in my back so there wasn't much I could do. Needless to say, he had not done any of my other ones!