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The Hidden Impact of Traditional Venipuncture

While blood collection is routine in veterinary medicine, traditional needle-based venipuncture creates significant challenges affecting animal welfare, staff safety, and practice efficiency.¹

Animal Stress: The Uncomfortable Reality

Research shows that 78.5% of dogs exhibit fear-related behaviors during veterinary examinations, with blood collection being particularly distressing.² The physiological stress response can compromise blood sample quality through stress-induced changes in blood chemistry, potentially affecting diagnostic accuracy and creating a cycle where repeated attempts escalate animal distress.³

Staff Safety: An Overlooked Occupational Hazard

Traditional blood collection exposes veterinary staff to serious injury risks. The CDC identifies bite and scratch wounds as significant occupational hazards in veterinary medicine, requiring immediate medical evaluation due to infection risks.⁴ During venipuncture, animal fear and restraint create ideal conditions for defensive behaviors including biting, scratching, and struggling.

Needlestick injuries represent another substantial risk, with veterinary staff facing regular exposure to bloodborne pathogens. The confined spaces and unpredictable movements inherent in animal restraint significantly increase these risks compared to human medical settings.¹

The Restraint Challenge

Traditional venipuncture often requires multiple staff members for adequate restraint, particularly with fearful or aggressive animals. This increases labor costs, multiplies injury exposure across staff, creates crowded procedure spaces that escalate animal stress, and limits scheduling flexibility. Research supports that minimizing restraint and adopting fear-free techniques significantly improves both animal welfare and practice efficiency.⁵

Procedural Inefficiencies and Hidden Costs

Needle-based blood collection frequently involves failed attempts with stressed, moving animals, requiring repeated procedures that compound stress and extend procedure times. Multiple punctures may be needed when initial attempts fail, creating more trauma and increasing infection risks. Stress-induced hemolysis can compromise sample integrity, necessitating repeat collections, while animals experiencing high stress may require extended recovery periods.

The IV Access Alternative

For animals with existing peripheral intravascular catheters (PIVCs), utilizing established vascular access offers key advantages: reduced handling requirements, preserved vein integrity for future use, and maintained treatment continuity. Needle-free blood collection through existing IV access represents an evidence-based approach that addresses traditional venipuncture challenges while maintaining sample quality standards.

Moving Forward

Stressful veterinary procedures compromise both animal welfare and diagnostic accuracy. By adopting technologies that prioritize patient comfort, enhance staff safety, and improve efficiency, practices can deliver more compassionate and effective care models in veterinary practice.

References

1. Voss, D. S., Boyd, M. V., Evanson, J. F., & Bender, J. B. (2024). An increase in animal-related occupational injuries at a veterinary medical center (2008-2022). Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 262(3), 376-382. https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.23.08.0477
2. Stellato, A. C., Flint, H. E., Widowski, T. M., Serpell, J. A., & Niel, L. (2019). Effects of a standardized four-week desensitization and counter-conditioning training program on pre-existing veterinary fear in companion dogs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 214, 32-39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2019.03.004
3. Palestrini, C., Minero, M., Cannas, S., Rossi, E., & Frank, D. (2017). Video analysis of dogs with separation-related behaviors. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 187, 42-46.
4. CDC. (2023). Veterinary worker safety and health. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/veterinary/about/
5. Yin, S. (2019). Low stress handling, restraint and behavior modification of dogs and cats. CattleDog Publishing.