Blood Drawing Syringe, Needle And Vacutainer Tube Used

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In this article, we will share some information about blood drawing syringe, needle and vacutainer tubes used for drawing blood from the patient. And if you are interested in more articles, then make sure to comment us below.

Blood collection/ phlebotomy:

For various biochemical tests, human blood is drawn from the patient's body by the process of puncturing the vein. This process is called phlebotomy.

The process of drawing blood from the patient's body mainly requires a sterile syringe, needle, vacutainer tubes, etc.

In this article, we will discuss different kinds of sterile syringes, needles and vacutainer tubes required for performing phlebotomy.

Types of syringe required for phlebotomy:

The size of the syringe required for phlebotomy ranges between 1 ml to 10 ml.

But in most cases, the commonly used syringes are 1 ml, 2.5 ml, 4 ml and 5 ml.

Sites for injecting syringes:

• Intramuscular (IM) site: At an angle 90°-72°

• Subcutaneous (SC) site: At an angle of 45°

• Intravenous (IV) site: At an angle of 25°

• Intradermal (ID) site: At an angle 10°-15°

* For drawing blood from the forearm of the patient, the syringe should be inserted in the site at an angle of 15°-30°.

Parts of syringe:

• Plunger

• Barrel

• Seal

• Needle holder

• Needle hub

• Needle shaft

• Bevel

• Lumen

• Needle cap.

Different types of needle gauge:

• 16 Gauge (1.65 mm): White colour code.

• 17G (1.47 mm): Red-violet colour code.

• 18G (1.2 mm): Pink colour code.

• 19G (1.1 mm): Cream colour code.

• 20G (0.9 mm): Yellow colour code.

• 21G (0.8 mm): Dark green colour code.

• 22G (0.7 mm): Black colour code.

• 23G (0.6 mm): Blue colour code.

• 24G (0.55 mm): Purple colour code.

• 25G (0.45 mm): Orange colour code.

• 26G (0.41 mm): Brown colour code.

1. The most commonly used needle for venipuncture is a 21G (0.8 mm) dark green coloured needle hub.
2. The most commonly used needle for the purpose of blood donation is 16G (1.65 mm) white coloured needle hub or 17G (1.47 mm) red-violet coloured needle hub, which draws blood at a rate of 200 ml/ minute.
3. The needle used to draw blood from the patient like small children and old aged having small veins is 22G (0.6 mm) black coloured needle hub.

Vacutainer tubes for blood samples:

Vacutainer blood collection tube is a sterile plastic or glass tube with a closure that is evacuated to create a vacuum inside a tube that helps to draw the required volume of blood from the patient's body.

Types of vacutainer tubes:

Here, we will discuss different types of vacutainer tubes required for the collection of a blood sample, it's colour code, anticoagulants added, and their applications of it.

1. Grey colour vacutainer tube:

• Additive: sodium oxalate and potassium fluoride.

• Blood sample: 2ml.

• Uses: oxalate acts as an anticoagulant and fluoride prevent enzymes in blood from glycolysis, so substrate such as glucose should not be used during storage.

• Tests: Glucose test, lactic acid test, blood alcohol test, etc.

2. Purple colour vacutainer tube:

• Additive: Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA).

• Blood sample: 2ml-4ml.

• Uses: EDTA is a strong anticoagulant used for complete blood count and blood films.

• Tests: blood typing and blood screening tests.

3. Red colour vacutainer tube:

• Additive: Clot activator and gel.

• Blood sample: 4ml-6ml.

• Uses: It is used when there is a need for separation serum from the blood.

• Tests: serology, chemistry, drug monitoring, immunology, etc.

4. White colour vacutainer tube:

• Additive: Potassium and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA).

• Blood sample: 4ml-6ml.

• Tests: Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)/ molecular and bDNA tests.

5. Green colour vacutainer tube:

• Additive: Sodium heparin or lithium heparin.

• Blood sample: 2ml-4ml.

• Uses: It is used for plasma determination in clinical chemistry.

• Tests: urea test, plasma biochemistry,  electrolyte testing, chromosomal studies etc.

6. Pink colour vacutainer tube:

• Additive: Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA).

• Blood sample: 2ml-4m

• Uses: It is used in haematology and blood banks.

• Test: Cross matching/ transfusion testing.

7. Light blue colour vacutainer tube:

• Additive: Sodium citrate (3.2%).

• Blood sample: 2ml-6ml.

• Uses: Citrate is a reversible anticoagulant used for preparing citrated plasma for coagulation studies.

• Tests: Coagulation test.

8. Black colour vacutainer tube:

• Additive: Sodium citrate (3.8%).

• Blood sample: 2ml.

• Test: Erythrocyte sedimentation rate test.

9. Dark blue colour vacutainer tube:

• Additive: Sodium heparin and sodium EDTA.

• Blood sample: 4ml-6ml.

• Tests: Trace element analysis test.

10. Yellow colour vacutainer tube:

• Additive: Acid Citrate Dextrose (ACD) and Sodium Polyanethol Sulfonate (SPS).

• Blood sample: 4ml-6ml.

• Uses: It is used in the microbiology laboratory.

• Tests: Drug monitoring, serum biochemistry, serum immunology tests, etc.

11. Orange/ Grey-yellow/Serum Separator Tube (SST)/ Gold colour vacutainer tube:

• Additive: Thrombin.

• Blood sample: 4ml-6ml.

• Uses: It helps in forming a barrier between the clot and the serum after centrifugation.

• Tests: of Serum testing.

12. Light green colour vacutainer tube:

• Additive: Lithium heparin and gel.

• Blood sample: 2ml-6ml.

• Uses: It is used for plasma separation.

• Tests: plasma ammonia test, renal function test, electrolyte test, chromosomal studies, blood alcohol test, toxicology test, etc.

Note:

• Adult blood samples can be drawn up to 2ml-6ml.

• Pediatric blood samples should be drawn up to 1.8ml-2.7ml.

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