Relationship Between Potassium Level in Venous Blood Samples Drawn and Heel Sticks In Infants and Newborns

In Infants and Newborns, is There a Relation Between the Potassium Level in Blood Samples Drawn From a Vein and Those Drawn From a Heel Stick?

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT01349218

Acronym

Enrollment

Registered

2011-05-06

Start date

2014-03-31

Completion date

2014-03-31

Last updated

2016-05-13

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Hyperkalemia

Keywords

Potassium, Infants, Heel Stick, Less than or equal to 6 months of age, IV catheter blood samples, perioperatively, elective surgical procedures

Brief summary

The purpose of this study is to find out whether there is a correlation (link) between the level of potassium in blood samples drawn from a vein and those drawn from a heel stick in infants scheduled for elective surgery.

Detailed description

This is a prospective study which will take place at the Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital Operating Room. After obtaining written informed consent from parents or guardians, infants and babies scheduled to have elective surgery under routine general anesthesia and are \<6 months of age will be included in the study. After the baby receives routine general anesthesia, a small amount of blood, 0.5 ml, will be drawn from a vein when an I.V. is started for the surgery. The largest possible cannula will be placed whenever possible to decrease hemolysis. If a baby has a central line, the blood sample will be drawn from it. If a baby has an existing peripheral I.V., a blood sample will be drawn from the I.V. cannula only if blood is freely running, to avoid hemolysis. Blood will be placed into a heparinized, 1 ml syringe for venous blood gas analysis. A second blood sample, 0.3 ml, will be drawn into a capillary pipette from a heel stick for capillary blood gas analysis. The heel will be properly sterilized, and a proper size lancet will be used. The same operator will be performing the heel stick in each case.

Interventions

OTHERBlood sample drawn from a vein

0.5 ml will be drawn from a vein when an IV is started for the surgery or from an IV already in place. The blood will be placed into a heparinized, 1 ml syringe for venous blood gas analysis.

OTHERBlood sample drawn from a heel stick

A second blood sample, 0.3 ml will be drawn into a capillary pipette from a heel stick for capillary blood gas analysis.

Study design

Allocation

Intervention model

SINGLE_GROUP

Primary purpose

DIAGNOSTIC

Masking

NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

No minimum to 6 Months

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Infants and babies, ASA physical Status I-III, less than 6 month of age and scheduled to have elective surgery under routine general anesthesia at Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital will be included.

Exclusion criteria

* Babies and infants with documented anemia (\< 8 gm), who are bleeding, ASA Classification \>III, have sickle cell disease or trait, thalassemia, HIV or DIC will be excluded from the study. Babies with organ failure will be excluded.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Potassium Measurements	0-30 minutes after start of surgery	In this prospective study, we would like to evaluate whether there is a correlation between the potassium level in blood samples drawn from a vein and those drawn from a heel stick.

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026