Here is the result of this week’s Quick Question. We asked, According to CLSI, we reduce the anticoagulant to blood ratio for coagulation testing draws when the hematocrit is over 55%. Assuming you know the hematocrit in advance, how do you manage this?
Your answers…
a. Always draw into an adjusted blue-stopper tube: 51 (46%)
b. Always draw using a syringe, then transfer using a prepared tube 49 (44%)
c. Check the initial assay results and retest only if they are abnormal: 8 (7%)
d. Ignore the requirement and run the assay on the specimen provided: 3 (3%)
To tell you the truth, I am surprised the majority uses approach a, considering the difficulty in pipetting from such a small volume and using the tube without vacuum. For those who use this approach, how do you manage these issues? G
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