PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Bush, Ruth A.
AU  - Mueller, Teresa
AU  - Sumwalt, Beverly
AU  - Cox, Susan A.
AU  - Hilfiker, Mary L.
TI  - Assessing Pediatric Trauma Specimen Integrity
AID  - 10.29074/ascls.23.4.219
DP  - 2010 Oct 01
TA  - American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science
PG  - 219--222
VI  - 23
IP  - 4
4099  - http://hwmaint.clsjournal.ascls.org/content/23/4/219.short
4100  - http://hwmaint.clsjournal.ascls.org/content/23/4/219.full
SO  - Clin Lab Sci2010 Oct 01; 23
AB  - OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the quality of trauma specimens by comparing line draws to venipuncture.DESIGN: The draw type (line or venipuncture); container type (Vacutainer or Microtainer); and suitability for processing (processed/hemolyzed/clotted) of routinely collected trauma specimens was analyzed.SETTING: The clinical laboratory of a Level I Pediatric Trauma Center.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Hemolyzed trauma specimens were analyzed according to method of collection, collector, and type of container to identify issues resulting in unusable samples.RESULTS: The data shows that for 13% of all draws, portions of the results were affected by hemolysis. Sixteen percent of line draws and 6% of venipunctures were hemolyzed (p = 0.04). There was no statistical association with who collected the sample (p = 0.07) or type of container (p = 1.00).CONCLUSION: Based on this sample of data, the laboratory recommends that, whenever possible, venipunctures be performed for laboratory testing of blood specimens to improve trauma specimen integrity.ABBREVIATIONS: ED = Emergency Department; EMS = Emergency Medical Services; ID = identification; MLA = medical laboratory assistant; RBC = red blood cells; RN = registered nurse.