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 ...

Hemoglobin is the oxygen-carrying protein contained in red blood cells (erythrocytes). Although normally present in only trace amounts, there are three species of hemoglobin that cannot transport oxygen.  The three species, collectively called dyshemoglobins because of their functional redundancy, are methemoglobin,...

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 ...

Methods for the measurement of hemoglobin (Hb) were first developed well over a century ago, so that hemoglobin was among the first diagnostic blood tests available to clinicians during the first decades of the 20th century when laboratory medicine was in its infancy.  Today it is the most frequently requested blood...

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 ...

Lately, everybody seems to be talking about reducing testing errors and improving patient safety. But where do you begin? The answer may be to look beyond the error itself and instead focus on what is causing it. Michael Astion, Associate Professor, Director of the University of Washington’s Reference Laboratory...

The University College London Hospitals (UCLH) is one of the largest NHS trusts in England. The Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and Obstetric Hospital houses the Trust's gynecology, obstetric and neonatal services. At the neonatal unit, blood gas monitoring has historically been done by a combination of blood gas...

Preanalytical errors are a significant source of medical errors that can jeopardize patient safety. Proper specimen labeling practices are critical components of effective and accurate patient identification.  These variables are now considered part of the preexamination process in the newest CLSI quality system...

In 2001, Belgian professor Greet Van den Berghe, PhD, and her colleagues at the Leuven University Hospital began a small revolution with the publication of the 2001 study “Intensive insulin therapy in critically ill patients”. According to the study, tighter glucose control based on insulin therapy lowered rates of...