EKF publishes Guide to Good Capillary Blood Sampling

EKF Diagnostics, the global in vitro diagnostics company, has published an educational guide that provides a quick overview of best practices for capillary blood sampling. It aims to help healthcare professionals understand common causes of pre-analytical errors and reduce their impact on hemoglobin results. Entitled ‘Capillary sampling and its relevance for correct hemoglobin results,’ the new Guide is available from the EKF Diagnostics website.

Capillary blood (fingerstick) sampling is increasingly being used worldwide due to the growing availability of point-of-care (POC) testing. With anemia affecting approximately 25% of the global population and a significantly higher prevalence in developing countries, hemoglobin is the most frequently performed test in point-of-care (POC) hematology. Blood collection services also routinely use it to ensure the safety of donations.

Notably, hemoglobin (Hb) values are among the parameters most prone to being affected by pre-analytical errors. Incorrect capillary blood sampling is the most common reason for inaccurate POC hemoglobin results. To avoid generating variant and misleading Hb results, healthcare personnel drawing blood must adhere to strict and standardized blood sampling techniques. This ensures accurate and consistent point-of-care testing (POCT) results that are comparable to those obtained through laboratory techniques.

In addition to discussing the reasons behind the vital importance of good capillary blood sampling, the new guide provides easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions on best practice capillary sampling. These present a simple visual explanation based on published detailed guidelines from the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute and the World Health Organization (WHO), with specific considerations added for hemoglobin testing.