CAPILLARY BLOOD-SAMPLING - SHOULD THE HEEL BE WARMED

The hypothesis that capillary blood sampling is made easier by warming the heel was examined in a randomised, controlled trial of healthy ne wborn infants. Sampling was performed using an automated lancet with o r without prior warming. The time taken to collect a standard volume o f blood, the number of repeat procedures needed, and the infants' beha vioural responses were measured. Eighty one procedures were studied in 57 infants. Warming produced a median rise in heel skin temperature o f 4.7 degrees C. However, there were no significant differences betwee n the warmed and unwarmed groups in any of the outcome measures.Heel s kin temperature is not an important factor in capillary blood sampling . Attention should be directed towards improving sampling devices and technique.