The Effect of Arm Dominance on Specimen Integrity When Sampling Blood from IV Catheters

The purpose of this study was to examine whether or not arm dominance contributes to rates of hemolysis in blood samples that are drawn from intravenous catheters at the time of their initial placement. A quantitative, prospective, quasi-experimental design was used. Fifty-eight subjects were randomized to either the control group who had blood drawn through an IV catheter placed in their dominant arm or the experimental group for whom the non-dominant arm was selected. The Sarstedt Monovette collection system was used to obtain blood samples from the IV catheter. Overall, blood specimens demonstrated a very low rate of hemolysis. Only one of the 159 blood tubes collected from the subjects was found to be hemolyzed. Although no correlation was found between arm dominance and sample hemolysis, a moderate relationship was identified between IV catheter site and degree of aspiration resistance