Here is a question from colleague, friend, and frequent contributor Larry Brace, PhD, Edward Hospital, Naperville, IL: Our (years-old) phlebotomy policy says to wait 4 hours after dialysis before venipuncture unless a doctor approves the draw. It makes sense but we can’t seem to find a reference. Can you suggest any? Also, is this policy pretty much standard?
Dr. Brace continues, “I think this comes from when almost all dialysis was done on unfractionated heparin, as 4 hours is the approximate half-life of heparin, so much of the heparin effects would be gone after 4 hours.”
From George: Hello, Larry, This must be a common concern. I tried a quick PubMed search and came up empty, so I’ve posted your question to learn other Fritsma Factor participants’ practices.
No comments here.