Abstract
Objectives: Blood specimen hemolysis is a major cause of sample recollection in the neonatal intensive care unit. We aimed to reduce the hemolysis rate from 6.3% at baseline to less than 4% within the 9 months' duration of the study. Methods: Intravenous infusion of lipid emulsion during sample collection, sample collection site, and blood sample transportation methods were investigated as possible contributors to hemolysis. Subsequently, two practice improvements were implemented: pausing lipid emulsion infusion prior to collection and slowing withdrawal rates through arterial catheters. Results: Samples were more likely to be hemolyzed if they were collected during lipid infusion and subsequently transported by pneumatic tube or collected through an arterial catheter. Retrospective analysis demonstrated a decreased number of tests cancelled due to specimen hemolysis (3.5%) after our interventions. Conclusions: We identified three variables contributing to hemolysis and instituted two clinical practice interventions to significantly reduce test cancellations due to hemolysis.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 113-118 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | American journal of clinical pathology |
Volume | 146 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jul 1 2016 |
Keywords
- Arterial catheter draws
- Clinical chemistry
- Clinical practice intervention
- Lipid emulsion infusion
- Neonatal ICU
- Quality improvement
- Sample transport
- Specimen hemolysis
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pathology and Forensic Medicine