[The routine sampling procedure for PKU should be changed. Venous puncture is less painful than heel lancing].
All newborns in Sweden are screened for phenylketonuria (PKU), among other things, blood usually being sampled by heel lancing. Because it is unnecessarily painful, however, this form of sampling in newborns has recently been questioned. There is reason to recommend sampling from a dorsal hand vein as the method of choice for PKU screening purposes.
Larsson
B A
BA
Kliniken för pediatrisk anestesi och intensivvård, Karolinska sjukhuset/S:t Görans barnkliniker, Stockholm.
Nörstmo
A
A
Guthenberg
C
C
Olsson
G L
GL
Danielsson
P
P
Hagenfeldt
L
L
Elander
G
G
Larsson
A
A
D001800:Blood Specimen Collection / Q000379:methods*; D002196:Capillaries; D006225:Hand / Q000098:blood supply; D006365:Heel / Q000098:blood supply; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D010661:Phenylketonurias / Q000097:blood / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011677:Punctures; D014680:Veins