Venipuncture Procedure

By Kristie in Phlebotomy / 1 comment

Due to the continuous advancement in modern medicine, well trained phlebotomists who are qualified to carry out the venipuncture procedure are needed constantly on a rapidly increasing basis. Venipuncture is the technique of drawing out blood for different medical purposes. It is a novel method of collecting blood compared to the old method of bloodletting that was in fact a little bit ahead of ancient medical procedures.

This ancient technique of bloodletting which was done to cure diseases was sometimes ineffective, but with the existence of the modern venipuncture procedure which is very effective in collecting blood for diagnoses and transfusion, the ancient method of bloodletting has been paled into insignificance.

Venipuncture is mostly done on the inner elbow. In some cases where phlebotomists are not able to locate a vein in the inner elbow of the patient, they have to move to other parts of the patient’s arm preferably the wrist or to other body parts in rare cases. A well-trained phlebotomist who is saddled with the responsibility of carrying out the venipuncture procedure starts by fastening a tourniquet around the arm of the patient, and then he proceeds to the next step of inserting an unused, sterile needle through the skin of the patient (which must have been disinfected with methylated spirit) and subsequently into the patient’s vein.

If the first venipuncture procedure is successful, then the blood will run up into the test tube (into which heparin has been added to prevent clotting of the blood). The test tube is then sealed and labelled immediately prior to sending or transferring it for testing. However, if blood does not flow through the vacuum tube, then the phlebotomist has no choice but to look for another vein and start over the venipuncture procedure.

Sometimes, when the doctor in charge orders for multiple tests on a particular patient, the phlebotomist may decide to use many vacuum tubes for the venipuncture procedure. These test tubes are each filled up, labelled and are later sent off for the tests. This process should not be done with more than one venipuncture procedure unless the vein punctured during the first attempt produced no blood.

Venipuncture procedure for infants or children differs from that of adults. This is because the safety and comfort of children must be given priority.  Venipuncture is really not a procedure worth nursing any phobia for; it’s just that sometimes it gives a rapid sensational effect which is precipitated by the pinprick which initiates the movement of the needle through the skin. This sensation is so sharp and rapid that it takes a very short period of time or just some very few seconds with minimal pain. Also, the fear of losing too much of blood during the venipuncture procedure should not be entertained as the human body is known to be capable of giving as much as some pounds of blood with no serious consequences.

With the rapid advancement in modern medical sciences and the constant improvement in education of skilful phlebotomist, venipuncture procedure and many other medical processes and practices have become very safe and also harmless as much as they can be. So, there is no reason to be afraid of it.

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