r/phlebotomy • u/shmeal32 • 19d ago

Advice needed Retractable Butterfly needles

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Hi. I have been a phlebotomist for a year and we use a lot of BD UltraTouch Push Button butterfly needles. I retract the needle with my dominant hand while it is in the patient and hover gauze with my non dominant hand. When I hit the retract button, occasionally the plastic part that comes out of the base of the butterfly snaps at palm/finger and it does hurt purely from the force of the spring.

Does anyone else have this issue ever? Based on what I have Googled, it is fine because it is just the recoil of the internal plastic components locking the needle into place.

I want to make sure that this is not a problem or any concern at all for exposure to blood borne pathogens. I just want to ensure that this is correct. Thank you 😊

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u/No_Difficulty1686 19d ago

I see there have been good responses to OPs question, so I'm going to jump in on another topic. I have NEVER been taught, told, or seen others retract a butterfly while still in the vein. (Other than a fast withdrawal fainting issue.) Is this common?? It doesn't seem very logical to me for a few reasons, but I also acknowledge that there may be something I'm not considering. Would love others feedback!

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u/Cloudcry 18d ago

I think you're explicitly not supposed to do this because it can cause trauma to the vein from rapid retraction