title: Finger-prick--an alternative to venipuncture for the assessment of endocrine profiles in women.
abstract: Traditionally, there has been a reliance on venipuncture to obtain peripheral blood endocrine levels for the assessment of infertility treatment cycles. We have assessed the viability of a finger-prick capillary blood collection method to provide an alternative to venipuncture, assisting in the treatment of patients for whom venous sampling may be difficult to perform. A direct one-to-one relationship was found between the two collection methods with respect to E2, P, and LH measurement. Finger-prick blood collection is simple and easy to perform and provides a viable alternative to venipuncture. It also alleviates the stress involved with multiple attempts at venous sampling in some patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Adelaide, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woodville, South Australia.
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: McLoughlin
authors.forename: K S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Goodchild
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Norman
mesh_terms: D001800:Blood Specimen Collection / Q000379:methods*; D001831:Body Temperature; D002196:Capillaries; D004702:Endocrine Glands / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D005385:Fingers; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D011677:Punctures; D014680:Veins