Our peds hospital would like to do away with butterfly needles and go to "straight needles" for lab draws (cost savings); I have been asked to post these questions regarding other facilities and their use of butterflies vs straight needle phlebotomy in peds:
Do you use exclusively butterflies for your pediatric venipuntures?
Do you use 23 G butterflies?
Do you use 21 G butterflies?
Do you use both 21 G and 23 G butterflies?
Do you use another G of butterfly?
Do you use a combination of butterflies and straight needles for your pediatric venipuntures?
If you use both straight needles and butterflies, do you have criteria to guide the use of a straight needle or a butterfly. What is your percentage (best guess) of butterfly use and your percentage of straight needle use?
Thanks
Holly Hess
PVAT
Wolfson Children's Hospital
This sounds like a nutty idea to me. No one would be attempting to do a venipuncture on a child in my family in the hand with a straight needle, ever. I would not allow anyone to even stick me in the hand with a straight needle for blood draws in the hand. Not enough control and flexibility for the small veins of the hand. Lynn
Lynn Hadaway, M.Ed., RN, BC, CRNI
Lynn Hadaway Associates, Inc.
126 Main Street, PO Box 10
Milner, GA 30257
Website http://www.hadawayassociates.com
Office Phone 770-358-7861
We use butterflies 100% of the time. We use predominately 23G and 25G. I also think it's a nutty idea.
Please note this point. When performing a venipuncture on an infant or child, it is advisable to puncture the skin 3 to 5 mm distally from the vein.[6] This will provide you with more room to work. If you, try to stick right on top of the vein, you risk pushing it away with your needle. And if you happen to misjudge your aim and run alongside the vein, you can recover or retrace it without having to withdraw the needle and attempt a second puncture.
Regards,
Amie (Phlebotomist)