Preanalytical Challenges During Capillary Fingerstick Sampling Preclude Its Widespread Use in Adult Hospitalized Patients.

Objectives: Patient compliance with laboratory testing is one of the most underrecognized challenges in developing a treatment plan for acute and chronically ill patients. The ability to offer alternatives to standard venipuncture blood draws would greatly increase a laboratory's ability to provide testing to patients and health care providers.

Methods: We performed a prospective observational study on paired venous and fingerstick capillary blood samples from admitted patients undergoing vancomycin therapy.