title: Capillary blood sampling: national recommendations on behalf of the Croatian Society of Medical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine.
abstract: Capillary blood sampling is a medical procedure aimed at assisting in patient diagnosis, management and treatment, and is increasingly used worldwide, in part because of the increasing availability of point-of-care testing. It is also frequently used to obtain small blood volumes for laboratory testing because it minimizes pain. The capillary blood sampling procedure can influence the quality of the sample as well as the accuracy of test results, highlighting the need for immediate, widespread standardization. A recent nationwide survey of policies and practices related to capillary blood sampling in medical laboratories in Croatia has shown that capillary sampling procedures are not standardized and that only a small proportion of Croatian laboratories comply with guidelines from the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) or the World Health Organization (WHO). The aim of this document is to provide recommendations for capillary blood sampling. This document has been produced by the Working Group for Capillary Blood Sampling within the Croatian Society of Medical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine. Our recommendations are based on existing available standards and recommendations (WHO Best Practices in Phlebotomy, CLSI GP42-A6 and CLSI C46-A2), which have been modified based on local logistical, cultural, legal and regulatory requirements. We hope that these recommendations will be a useful contribution to the standardization of capillary blood sampling in Croatia.
authors.affiliation: Croatian Society of Medical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine, Working Group for Capillary Blood Sampling, Zagreb, Croatia ; Children's Hospital Zagreb, Department of Laboratory Diagnostics, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Jasna Lenicek
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Krleza
authors.affiliation: Croatian Society of Medical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine, Working Group for Capillary Blood Sampling, Zagreb, Croatia ; University Hospital for Infectious Diseases Dr. Fran Mihaljevic, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Haematology, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Adrijana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dorotic
authors.affiliation: Croatian Society of Medical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine, Working Group for Capillary Blood Sampling, Zagreb, Croatia ; Children's Hospital Zagreb, Department of Laboratory Diagnostics, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Grzunov
authors.affiliation: Croatian Society of Medical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine, Working Group for Capillary Blood Sampling, Zagreb, Croatia ; General Hospital Karlovac, Department of Medical Biochemistry Laboratory, Karlovac, Croatia.
authors.forename: Miljenka
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maradin
mesh_terms: D001671:Biochemistry / Q000458:organization & administration*; D001800:Blood Specimen Collection / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D002196:Capillaries; D003264:Containment of Biohazards / Q000592:standards; D017523:Croatia; D004203:Disinfection / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D017575:Gloves, Protective; D006235:Hand Disinfection; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D013677:Medical Laboratory Science / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009928:Organ Specificity; D010355:Patient Identification Systems; D012958:Societies, Scientific / Q000592:standards*
keywords: blood specimen collection; capillary blood; preanalytical phase; recommendations; standardization