Trouble filling Microtainers

[ICareAlot]

Hello, I was hoping maybe someone on here could offer some advice. I have recently been assigned the duty of doing blood draws. Most of the time it's a capillary stick. I can pretty much always fill the microtainers with a suction tube coming out of them and infant heel sticks, but the ones that require you to scoop or let the blood drop into it (such as the serum microtainers) have been giving me trouble. I can usually get excellent flow, and I can pretty much always 'milk' enough blood out. The problem is when the drop runs down the finger, and then it gets on my glove, and then it gets all over their hand. This causes me to lose my ability to form a drop. If I stop to clean the area then it may clot by the time I finish. I have moderately large hands, so I find it difficult to keep my knuckles away while squeezing the blood out.

[LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN]

Do you warm the heel prior to the heel stick? How long are you warming the heel?

[Julius Seizure]

You can wipe a piece of Vaseline gauze over the site after poking/wiping away the first drop. The Vaseline will help the blood form drops instead of just smearing.

*ive been told that there are a couple of tests that this can affect the result for, but others it is okay.

[ICareAlot]

This is for finger sticks only. I don't have problems with heel sticks, but to answer your question, I do use a heel warmer when doing them.

[LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN]

This is for finger sticks only. I don't have problems with heel sticks, but to answer your question, I do use a heel warmer when doing them.

Thanks for the clarification.

I would go with the Vaseline gauze technique stated before; however, do accuracy may be a problem, so prior to sticking the finger, have the hand remain low prior to sticking, and collect in a dependent position, allowing gravity to form at the site.

[Julius Seizure]

Thanks for the clarification.

I would go with the Vaseline gauze technique stated before; however, do accuracy may be a problem, so prior to sticking the finger, have the hand remain low prior to sticking, and collect in a dependent position, allowing gravity to form at the site.

Yup. Ideally you can just hold the microtainer below the finger (which is dangling off the side of the bed)...and just let the drops fall in. I've read that scraping to collect the blood results can cause inconsistent results, and collecting the drops without scraping is better. (Not always possible)

[ICareAlot]

Thanks for the advice guys. I don't think we have vaseline gauzes. We do keep vaseline, but I don't recall ever seeing any vaseline gauzes. Could I just rub some vaseline on their finger and then poke it?

[~PedsRN~, BSN, RN]

You are not alone. Every heel stick/finger stick I have done with a microtainer has ended up looking like a fricken' scene from NCIS.