Children do not experience pain in quite the same way that adults do. They can have an intense emotional reaction to unpleasant sensory input. They don't like it, and they can develop a fear of it. Since they do not understand why they should go through a painful experience, they fight it. For example, a medical test or blood draw that involves a needle stick may trigger a fit of crying, screaming or kicking. The episode is nerve-wracking and upsetting for everyone.
Drawing blood is an example of the kind of painful experience that makes kids run for the door as soon as they see the healthcare professionals walk in. But it doesn't have to be that way.
Traditionally, blood samples needed for laboratory testing are drawn from a vein, which typically requires a poke in the arm. A long needle is used to draw the blood, once the vein is located. Locating the vein means probing around in the arm with the needle.
Because of their smaller veins and subcutaneous fat, veins in children are difficult to find. Sometimes multiple sticks are required, which is very traumatic for the child — and anyone else in the room.
In the United Kingdom, a special program for pediatric organ transplant patients is taking advantage of microsampling technology on the market. Microsampling devices are designed for less invasive, remote specimen collection. The new technology allows for low-volume microsampling, which is as minimally invasive as it sounds.
Instead of 10 or 20 ml of blood being drawn from a vein in the arm, 2-3 small drops of blood (10 µl) are collected from a fingertip after a quick and nearly painless finger-stick with a tiny lancet. These smaller, micro-sized blood samples are called "microsamples."
In the UK, microsampling is being used on an at-home basis for remote testing and monitoring of blood levels for drugs such as antibiotics, anti-seizure medications, antidepressants, and psychiatric medications. Microsamples deliver accurate results that help care teams determine whether a patient's drug levels are therapeutic, and also help to guard against toxicity and related side effects.
A child's experience as a patient doesn't need to be so traumatic that it becomes a negative memory that impacts future healthcare experiences. Let's follow the example set by early adopters of microsampling in the UK and try to improve those early healthcare experiences by taking some of the pain and fear out of specimen collection for lab testing.
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Image Credits: Trajan, Neoteryx, Shutterstock