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1932338 tn?1349220398

Bad blood draw

Hi, I am new to this forum and have read many others with my same experience.  
I am hoping for some helpful advice.

Last week I had a routine annual blood draw in a new Doctors office where the Nurse said she does a lot of blood draws.  I researched ahead the "proper procedures" to drawing blood.
Well, it went so fast that I couldn't stop her on time, but she basically failed every sanitary procedure possible.

The "sanitary issues" are one thing, but now my immediate concern is that
I am left with numbness and electrical shock like pain from the draw site on the medial side of my inside elbow, all the way down my fingers.

I am guessing she hit a nerve, as she had the needle in pretty far at first and had to pull back to get decent blood flow.  Also, my vein was a little deeper I guess, so her needle angle was approx. 40 degrees (instead of 15 degrees).

I see the actual Doctor in 2 days for my annual physical and I am debating on how much I should complain as I don't know if it will be in my best interest to alienate the office as there are only 3 people that work there.

From what I've read the nerve damage may or may not go away, and only time will tell.  Needless to say, I am not happy with the experience as I feel the lady who drew the blood was obviously careless all the way thru.

QUESTION:  To learn from this experience, is there anyone who can share with us on this forum some helpful suggestions on how to prevent this nerve damage from happening in the future?

Thank you for any thoughts you have on the subject.
4 Responses
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15080470 tn?1438293336
I had blood drawn on Tuesday, today is Thursday.  I had to have blood drawn because I am going in for an operation.  The "girl" who took my blood I think did it wrong.  I have veins you can fit a semi through and my arm looks like I crushed it in a door!  I am not only sore, but the blood is up and down my arm on the inside.  She called it bruising; but isn't it just "loose" blood that "She" caused?  She hit something because there is a BIG lump to the left of the vein.  Seeing as this is the arm that the doctors will be operating on, I am worried that this will not heal before the operation in ten days.  
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1932338 tn?1349220398
Oh, and I guess my veins are small and below the surface.  I have one showing in the middle of the inside of my elbow, but she said that one was probably too small.
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1932338 tn?1349220398
Thank you so much for such a thoughtful & helpful answer.

In answer to your questions, I told her ahead of time that my veins were small and harder to find...she already had a butterfly laid out (out of the package and on the countertop with no protection).  I asked what size butterfly needle, and she told me 23 guage.  I told her that I knew 25 guage could cause hemolysis.

Did did stab me with one quick deep stab on approx. a 40 degree angle to my arm on the PINKY side of the inside of my elbow...1" over from the center of my arm on the bottom crease.  I verbally said, wow that feels like you went deep (because it hurt).  She had a slow flow for the first vial, but then pulled the needle back a little and the blood flowed better for the next 2 vials (3 total were drawn).  Then, she put the 1st vial back in the hub and said, "I want to add more now that the blood is flowing better ).  That was after the 3rd Lavender tube was drawn=possible contamination of 1st vial ???

She left the tournaquet on for all 3 vials, plus putting the 1st vial back on.  I was so flaberquasted at everything she did wrong that I forgot to count for the 60 seconds with the tournaquet Maximum...but I have to guess she had to have gone over.  Perhaps she was afraid if she removed it before the last CBC vial was drawn that the blood would stop flowing ???  Anyways, the bottom portion of my arm was discolored and I told her it felt numb and funny.
She said "I may have nicked a nerve"...to which I said "now what?" She said, oh it should be OK and walked out of the room.  Her Dr. was not in the office this day. But I have my appt. with her on Tuesday to review blood results and annual physical.

Any more thoughts ?  I am wondering why she chose the PINKY side of my arm if she could have chosen the thumb side to be safer?  She did a quick palpation for veins before poking .  


  
Helpful - 0
1340994 tn?1374193977
I went to school for phlebotomy, although I could not find a job because I didn't have 2 years' experience.  

The phlebotomist cannot see your arteries or nerves.  If she uses proper technique, it reduces the risk, but does not eliminate all risks.

When I did my clinicals, the people broke lots of rules too.  You are supposed to rub the area with the cotton 2 x 2 in a circular pattern, starting at the center.  Allow the alcohol to dry.  Do not touch the area after using the alcohol.  If you have to touch it, you have to wipe it and allow it to dry again.  They must not take a 2 x 2 and dry the site themselves by dabbing or wiping.  It must air dry on its own.  It doesn't clean the skin except by air dying.  They should not fan the area to make it dry quicker.  

Where did she choose to stick you?  Was it in your hand or antecubital area (the inside elbow area)?  Was it in the middle or on the thumb side of the arm or the pinky side?  (This way we can be sure it's not a terminology mixup).  Are your veins visible or deep?  Large or small?  did she use a blood pressure cuff or a regular tourniquet?  Did she release the tourniquet after the tube got filling well?  

If she stuck you on the pinky side of your arm, that's an immediate problem.  That's the side where she could most easily hit an artery or nerve.  If she did it in the center or thumb side, she was doing it right.  I personally never did a hand stick because they are more painful.  

Did she use a butterfly setup or a big straight needle?  They can both work well, but I'm just curious what she used on such a steep angle.  If it was a butterfly and the vein was deep, it's not as unusual.  Having to pull back the needle is not very unusual.  

If you checked Youtube for proper technique, I can easily find problems with the techniques used there, especially as far as hygiene.  

I think it is important to report the injury to the office.  They need to know if their nurse needs more training.  Just be very nice about it and not all emotional.  I'm not sure a lawsuit is in order unless she stuck you on the wrong side of your arm.  Healthcare people are allowed to make mistakes.  They are not allowed to be negligent by not following proper procedure.  
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