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Intravenous Infusions and Related Tasks Lesson 2: Obtain a Blood Sample 2-1 |
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2-1. GENERAL Venipuncture is the act of puncturing a vein with a needle, usually for the purpose of withdrawing a specimen of blood. This may be accomplished by using either a needle and syringe or by using the Vacutainer ® system.a. The Vacutainer ® is a blood-drawing system using a double-ended needle, a plastic holder, and vacuum tubes. The tubes may be empty or they may contain a measured amount of anticoagulant or other material.b. Since most blood specimens do not need to be sterile, the stopper on the glass tube is not sterile. However, the needle that is inserted into the vein must be sterile to avoid the spread of infection. The Vacutainer ® is not used when a sterile blood specimen is needed such as that needed for a blood culture.® system advantages.
(2) Vacutainer ® system disadvantages.
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