Authors (including presenting author) :
Chan SFE (1), Lau KYG (1); Wong SN (1); Lai YM(1); Woo SMM (1) LI MNC (1)
Affiliation :
(1) Community Nursing Services, Queen Mary Hospital
Introduction :
Elderly patients with blood taking are very challenging to Community nurses due to hard-to-find vein , dehydration, low blood pressure or loss of vein patency. Consequently, a series of safety risks will be the concerns for community nurses. In May to November 2022, a visible light transilluminator is selected and used for performing phlebotomy for community home dwelling elderly.
Objectives :
(1) To evaluate the use of the NIR transillumination device to improve vein selection in elderly in community
Methodology :
Only Mann Whitney and Chi-square test was employed. Subjects were (1) referred for phlebotomy in HKWC CNS; (2) all ages above 60 ; (3) living at home. A total of 277 elderly patients were enrolled and convenience sampling was used. All participants were allocated to control group (with standard traditional method) and to intervention group with support of NIR transilluminator. The primary outcome measures were categorized as (1) the first stick success rate; (2) no. of attempts required before successful attempt; and (3) total time required for successful phlebotomy The secondary outcome was (4) Patient survey on the level of experience in using a new transillumination device
Result & Outcome :
A total of 181 patients were served: 50% male and 50% female. There were no statistically significant in reduction in neither first stick attempt success, number of attempts nor time required between two groups. Over 85 % of patients satisfied to the new device for blood taking. There were two positive observations noted: increasing patient age and use of small size of cannula in intervention group were associated. In conclusion, the use of new transillumination device can enhance the patient's experience in phlebotomy in community.
