Dec 2024 QQ: Whole Blood Clot Detection

Our December 2024 Quick Question, “How do you detect small clots in whole blood specimens?” drew 44 responses. Here are our results…

1. Plastic dowel: 0
2. Observe plasma: 1 (2%)
3. Wooden dowel (stick): 34 (78%)
4. Tilt tube and observe: 8 (18%)
5. We don’t check for clots: 1 (2%, I–Geo–added this vote, it does not represent a specific facility)

For an in-depth discussion, please navigate to our November 28 entry, Clot Detection in Whole Blood Specimens. In addition to the responses, our contributors offer an alternative approach: check for clots only when the assay results seem implausible. Thanks to our QQ participants and to the comments from our November 28 contributors.