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Difficult venesections: An easy solution
Address for correspondence: Dr. Sanjeev Gupta, #B2, MM Medical College Residential Campus, Mullana, Ambala, Haryana, India. E-mail: sanjeevguptadr@gmail.com
This article was originally published by Wolters Kluwer - Medknow and was migrated to Scientific Scholar after the change of Publisher.
Abstract
Abstract
Venesection is common procedure performed in day to day life of every doctor. Conventional vein finders available are costly and not easily available. The present paper highlights the use of makeshift vein finder.
Keywords
Customized
infrared light
innovation
procedure
red light
venesection
PROBLEM FACED
Venesection is a routine procedure performed frequently in indoor and outdoor patients. In dermatology, it is routinely required for the preparation of platelet-rich plasma apart from blood sampling. Sometimes it is difficult to find a good vein because of obesity old age. There are a lot of vein finders and smartphone applications available in the market and online, which are based on infrared technology; unfortunately, they are costly and not easily available, especially in remote areas and poor-resource settings.
SOLUTION PROPOSED
To overcome this problem, we tried to devise an in-house vein finder with easily accessible components. Veins are located deep in subcutaneous tissue, where normal white light fails to penetrate [Figure 1]. Wavelengths of 600–700 nm (red color) penetrate the subcutaneous tissue where the superficial blood vessels reside. When the red light is flashed close to the skin, the hemoglobin in the blood vessels acts as a chromophore and absorbs red light better than the surrounding tissue. Therefore, the blood vessels are clearly delineated and better visualized as dark areas against red light surrounding subcutaneous tissue [Figure 2].[12] To make an indigenous red light source, a piece of red cellophane paper was taken which was wrapped on an LED torch, or any portable light source. The piece of cellophane sheet can be cleaned with an antiseptic solution before use and can be discarded after use. The red light emitted has deeper penetration and gives a better visualization of the veins that are not easily seen in white light. Even a cellphone flashlight after cleaning with an antiseptic solution can be used in direct contact with the skin for better penetration of light and serves the same purpose.
- Poor visibility of vein in normal light
- Prominent vein seen after using red light in contact with skin
This makeshift device is economical and can be easily customized and may be of help in emergency situations, especially in poor resource settings where the vein is not easily visible.
Declaration of patient consent
The authors certify that they have obtained all appropriate patient consent forms. In the form the patient(s) has/have given his/her/their consent for his/her/their images and other clinical information to be reported in the journal. The patients understand that their names and initials will not be published and due efforts will be made to conceal their identity, but anonymity cannot be guaranteed.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
REFERENCES
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- [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]
