Obtaining blood specimen

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I have a question has anybody seen blood specimen obtained via an open angiocatheter and dripped into a lab test tube? I had never seen this practice before. I am currently working in an ED out side of the country (don't ask where) and this is a practice which is often used.

Personally I can't even begin to imagine how nurses could actually do this and allow themselves to be exposed to blood components. I have tried to do a literature search against this practice but can't seem to find any literature. If anybody knows of an article specifically dealing with this please post the information. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

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Specializes in Peds critical care.

We do it a lot in peds. Small veins collapse with the vacutainer or with a syringe. Best to just drip the blood if you want your specimen.

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In pediatrics I totally get it. I wonder if this is a safe practice to be doing in general?

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Specializes in ED.

I don't see how it's any less safe so long as you are wearing gloves.

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