21G or 23G

Re: 21G or 23G

ShropshireLass — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 12:34:27 GMT

Of course the vet where I locum at the moment always uses 23g on everything, sends off haematology to a lab and always gets a full result.

Re: 21G or 23G

Steph Smith BSc(hons) RVN — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 21:33:19 GMT

[quote user="Emily Hibbs"]

For practical exam purposes it's 21G (or above if they are mean and don't have that one out!)

[/quote]

Yes, I found that out the hard way!!

For one of my OSCE's (setting up to b/s a cat), I put out a blue 23g needle and failed the entire task as it was a compulsory element.

So frustrating as I had always used, and still do, 23g for cats 3kg odd.

Re: 21G or 23G

louisecalvert90 — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 13:52:15 GMT

21g(green) for everything if a can, only drop to a 23g(blue) in very small kittens and puppies and rabbits

Re: 21G or 23G

BengalcatRVN — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 13:55:43 GMT

21g all the way for cats and dogs. Quicker to get the sample then ;o)

An online friend of mine says re- catheters - go big or go home.

Re: 21G or 23G

Chris Geddes — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 09:32:51 GMT

21g for all bloods. Affects in house as well as external fbc and biochem (as intracellular contents different to serum so would inc k+ for example). Animal really cant distinguish between 21 and 23g as doesn't have sufficiently high density of receptors.

Re: 21G or 23G

Emily Hibbs — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 18:13:36 GMT

For practical exam purposes it's 21G (or above if they are mean and don't have that one out!)

Re: 21G or 23G

Steph Worsley — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 17:20:29 GMT

21g in dogs, 23g in cats and small puppies and kittens

like people have said it is personal preference, and if you asked the labs they would say a 21g needle for everything

I haven't found that bleeding through a 23g needle is any slower than a 21g needle

Re: 21G or 23G

Celine — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 15:10:18 GMT

We routinely take blood from tiny things - 150g marmosets etc and use 25G all the time - no complaints from the lab!

Re: 21G or 23G

shelly jefferies — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 14:24:51 GMT

I try and use 21g wherever possible, i know some people feel should use smaller ie 23g in cats, however i think the difference in discomfort on the needle *** is minimal, however the draining of blood is slower through 23g so the animal has to be restrained longer which isn t necessarily great in cats. don't know if this is proven just my personal feelings after 15 years in the job!

Re: 21G or 23G

F1chick — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 13:43:56 GMT

I was taught 21g in dogs, 25g in cats 25g in rabbits etc

Re: 21G or 23G

jules007 — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 08:45:42 GMT

It seems to be very much personal preference. I like to use 21g where possible, but I know quite a few people who prefer to use 23g in cats. I can't say that I've seen any drawbacks to using the 23g on any haematology samples - the blood analysers these days have come along way and are probably less sensitive to poor samples, but the damage to RBC's using 23g is probably negligable anyway. Use what works for you - that's what i say!

Re: 21G or 23G

Julie-Anne Wilson — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 07:35:09 GMT

I've always sucked at remembering g to colour but am I right in saying that's a green needle? If yes, then that's the right one to use.

Anything thinner could potentially damage WBCs, which is fine for your in house but anything more substantial an in depth (sending it externally) would be ruined.