RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Smaller needles gauge (G) may reduce pain and improve vein access in difficult venous access (DVA). Aims were to compare the performances of two Beckton-Dickinson (BD) Vacutainer® Blood Collection Sets in a pediatric setting: UltraTouch™ Push Button (UT-PBBCS) and Safety-Lok™ (SLBCS). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Questionnaires were used to record venipuncture features, patient pain perception and phlebotomist difficulty score. Specimen quality was evaluated by hemolysis index (HI) on Roche Cobas® 6000. RESULTS: SLBCS (21/23G) or UT-PBBCS (23/25G) were used in 211 (50.2%) and 209 (49.8%) subjects. Pain was associated with age (pâ¯<â¯0.0001) and was lower in UT-PBBCS (pâ¯=â¯0.0339). Difficulty was significantly associated with age (pâ¯=â¯0.002), not with needle gauge (pâ¯=â¯0.461) and it was 0.42 points lower in UT-PBBCS. HI was not associated with blood collection set (pâ¯=â¯0.385). CONCLUSIONS: UT-PBBCS globally performed better than SLBCS and could enhance phlebotomy and patient comfort, without affecting sample quality in pediatric patients with DVA.