Effectively written policies and procedures can help contribute to an error-free POCT program. Sentara Healthcare has incorporated policy and procedure development into their safety program. It is coined Focus & Simplify and is about improving the effectiveness of work processes and procedure documentation.  Through ...

There is widespread confusion concerning the quantities to be used in the description of the oxygen-transport properties of human blood [1]. It all began in 1980 with the introduction of a changed (and wrong) definition of oxygen saturation in a paper on a new instrument for multicomponent analysis (MCA) of...

Reprinted with permission from Elsevier from "Neonate capillary blood gas reference values", by Jocelyne Cousineau, Suzanne Anctil, Ana Carceller, Monique Gonthier and Edgard E. Delvin, CLINICAL BIOCHEMISTRY, Vol no 38, 2005, pp 905-907. Copyright 2005 by Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. OBJECTIVES Because...

Interview Fetal scalp Blood Sampling (FBS) – not exactly wishful thinking for the mother, nor for the obstetrician? The procedure is regarded as cumbersome, the sample quality is questionable and the consequences of the result may be instrumental vaginal delivery or Cesarian Section (CS). acutecaretesting.org has...

Iatrogenic phlebotomy loss resulting from the intensive clinical monitoring in the weeks immediately following birth remains the primary cause of neonatal anemia and the need for red-blood-cell (RBC) transfusion. Reducing RBC transfusion needs in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) requires new approaches for...

Lack of homogeneity of a blood sample can lead to incorrect results. In this paper, the quality requirements of a sample prior to mixing, the type of samples, sample collection devices and tools and mechanics of mixing will be highlighted. Issues related to the mixing of samples intended for hematological and blood...

Laboratorians need to take ownership of errors, identifying, analyzing and reducing them, thereby increasing patient safety. A Client Services Department, customer care representatives, a service improvement coordinator, “morning report”, electronic error tracking and reporting mechanisms, point-of-care support...

The collection of arterial specimens with glass syringes and immediate storage in iced water was the accepted industry standard for many years. Practice has changed over the past several years to blood gas sample collection in plastic syringes, likely due to the cost, safety and convenience of plastic. This change ...

Blood gases are measured from an arterial blood sample to evaluate the respiratory adequacy and oxygen status of the critically ill patient. For the adult patient, the arterial blood is sampled either by arterial puncture or from an indwelling catheter. In neonates and children, the wish to minimize iatrogenic blood...

Capillary blood sampling via a heel lance is the most common procedure performed in hospitalized neonates. Adequate training and supervision of the personnel performing the procedure is necessary to prevent/minimize inadequate sampling volumes, false laboratory results and complications such as pain. Efforts should be ...