Specimen Management

Applicator Sticks

This message came to George via Elaine Benoit, Precision BioLogic Inc. Good evening Mr George, I accidentally came across the site and I am very happy to have found you. First of all I apologize for English. I am passionate about in vitro haemostasis. In December 2013 I thought and applied a post-analytical sample clotting […]

Specimen Management

Storing Unspun PTT Specimens

From our colleague and frequent contributor Heather DeVries, Indiana University Health. Greetings George! One of our labs contacted me about PTT specimens coming from outpatient clinics, where they do not have centrifuges. Before coming into our system, this lab did a small study (30 specimens) to validate 24-hour stability of nonheparinized specimens for PTT testing. […]

Specimen Management

Hemolysis and Heparin Assay

Frequent contributor Dave McGlasson called from the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science annual meeting venue in San Diego. He has just heard this question from a colleague. “Can you use the chromogenic anti-Xa heparin assay when the specimen is hemolyzed or icteric?” Her concern arose from cases in which patients had been treated with […]

Anticoagulant Therapy

QQ for 7-17: Specimen Storage

Our July, 2017 Quick Question was, “How do you store plasma specimens when coagulation testing is delayed to beyond 48 hours?“ We totaled 86 responses, and here are the results: Controlled refrigerator at 1–6°C 9% (8) Controlled freezer at –20°C 33% (28) Household freezer at ~ –20°C 3% (3) Controlled freezer at –70°C 55% (47) […]

Quick Question Archive

Antithrombin Specimens

From Odetta Hanna, Sekisui Diagnostics: Hello, I am looking for information about the percentage of fresh-vs- frozen samples tested for antithrombin in laboratories.

Specimen Management

May We Load Syringes with Anticoagulant?

Though we collect most hemostasis specimens using evacuated tubes, we often resort to syringes when patient veins are small or fragile. Many of us specify syringe collection for global whole blood assays and platelet function tests. George recalls a time when we would load the syringe with a measured volume of sodium citrate anticoagulant prior […]

Specimen Management

Quick Question: Specimen Storage

On June 28, hemostasis researcher Dave McGlasson asked George, “what temperatures do most of us use to store centrifuged, platelet-poor plasma when testing is delayed?” We assumed most of us use –70ºC freezers, but it may be that many lab practitioners use alternative specimen storage protocols. George offered to post Dave’s question as our July, […]

Specimen Management

Quick Question: Specimen Hemolysis

Here are the 6-7-17 results of our latest Quick Question survey. The topic of specimen hemolysis came up in a lengthy December 6, 2016 entry featuring comments from Dennis Ernst, Center for Phlebotomy Education. Q: What approach do your facility’s nurses use to reduce specimen hemolysis at the time they are starting IVs? a. Collect […]

Quick Question Archive

Stopping a Heparin Infusion to Collect a Specimen

Here is a question forwarded by friend and colleague Dennis Ernst, Center for Phlebotomy Education. When we must draw from the arm with fluids infusing, our policy has always been that the RN must pause the IV. If the IV is in the other arm, we do not ask the nurses to pause the infusion […]

Specimen Management

PPP Validation

From Heather DeVries: Greetings! We were inspected by CAP this week, and at one facility they questioned the validation of PPP. Our current procedure, written in 2001, states that the AVERAGE of 10 specimens must yield a platelet count of less than 5000/uL in order to validate a centrifuge. At the facility in question, one […]

Specimen Management

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George Fritsma is a medical laboratory scientist, educator, and author. George holds faculty appointments with Rutgers University and Michigan State University, and is a member of the International Society on Thrombosis and Hemostasis, American Association of Clinical Chemists, and American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science.

Cheat Sheets from George

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