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Articles and journal scans about Preanalytical phase
Journal Scan
April 2012
Increased laboratory testing of trauma patients
A significant increase in the use of blood tests for the management of trauma patients has had little overall effect in terms of survival following trauma, or the length of time those who survive have to spend in hospital.
This is a headline finding from a recently published study examining the clinical impact of...
Process optimization
Quality assurance
Preanalytical phase
Journal Scan
January 2012
Venous versus arterial blood for gas analysis
Although arterial blood remains the gold standard sample for blood gas analysis, it is, compared with peripheral venous blood, a more difficult sample to obtain, and its collection is more painful and hazardous for the patient. These considerations have fuelled a growing interest in study aimed at establishing if...
Blood gases/acid-base
Preanalytical phase
Quality assurance
Journal Scan
October 2011
Pneumatic tube transport of samples for blood gas analysis
Many hospitals have a pneumatic tube system (PTS) that is routinely used to transport blood samples rapidly to the central laboratory, but the notion that such systems can be used to transport samples destined for blood gas analysis is challenged by the results of a recent study.
This prospective study, focusing on...
Blood gases/acid-base
Process optimization
Preanalytical phase
Journal Scan
April 2011
Improving patient safety by reducing sample identification errors
The 1999 US Institute of Medicine report "To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health Care System" provided an influential wake-up call for healthcare workers concerning the frequency of preventable medical errors. Initiatives over the past decade aimed at improving the safety of patient-sample testing represent just...
Quality assurance
Preanalytical phase
Article
April 2011
Optimizing accuracy and precision for point-of-care tests
Point-of-care testing sites continue to increase in number due to the availability of easy-to-use devices that make it possible to provide test results very quickly relative to the central laboratory services. There is, however, mixed review regarding the accuracy and reliability of POCT results for patient care. It...
Point-of-care testing
Preanalytical phase
Quality assurance
Glucose
Hemoglobins
Lactate
Troponins
Journal Scan
October 2010
Challenging intensive care policy
In the intensive care unit blood is frequently sampled for arterial blood gases via an indwelling arterial catheter. Around a third of critically ill patients have such catheters inserted; they allow not only easy access for blood sampling but also continuous monitoring of blood pressure. In a short editorial the...
Quality assurance
Preanalytical phase
Journal Scan
July 2010
Pseudo-hypoxemia
Arterial blood gas analysis includes measurement of partial pressure of oxygen (pO2(a)) and calculation of oxygen saturation (sO2(a)), both useful for assessing patient oxygenation status. Hypoxemia is diagnosed if pO2(a) is below the lower limit of the reference range (10.6 kPa, 88 mmHg). Pseudo-hypoxemia is...
Blood gases/acid-base
Quality assurance
Preanalytical phase
Journal Scan
April 2010
The importance of correct blood sampling for blood gas analysis
The significance of preanalytical technique for accurate arterial blood gas analysis is the focus of a recently published study. The authors of this study sought to quantitate the analytical error associated with collection of venous rather than arterial blood, delay in arterial blood analysis and contamination of...
Blood gases/acid-base
Preanalytical phase
Journal Scan
December 2009
Pseudohyperkalemia
Potassium is one of the blood analytes most frequently measured in
the clinical laboratory and at the point of care. Compared with
most laboratory measurements, potassium is unusually prone to
preanalytical error so that pseudohyperkalemia, defined as raised
serum or plasma potassium concentration despite normal in...
Preanalytical phase
Electrolytes
Journal Scan
April 2009
Correcting potassium concentration of hemolyzed samples
Hemolysis, the breakdown of erythrocyte (red-cell) membranes, can occur in vivo as a result of disease, or more commonly in vitro when it is most usually a consequence of poor blood collection or sample handling technique.
Hemolysis is of significance for laboratory staff because it results in the release of...
Blood gases/acid-base
Preanalytical phase