Final answer:
A heel stick is not recommended for patients older than 1 year due to the maturation of their veins and reduced risks associated with alternative methods like venipuncture.
Step-by-step explanation:
A heel stick should not be performed on a patient older than 1 year old.
The heel stick procedure, also referred to as a capillary blood test, is commonly used to collect small amounts of blood for testing, most often in newborns for newborn screening tests. This method is typically used for infants because their veins are small and not yet fully developed, making venipuncture more difficult and potentially painful.
However, as infants grow, their veins become more prominent, and the risks associated with heel sticks, such as bruising and infection, increase. Therefore, it is recommended to transition to venipuncture or other alternative methods for blood collection in patients over 1 year of age, when the venous blood sampling becomes feasible and more preferred.