A cohort study assessing the impact of small volume blood tubes on diagnostic test quality and iatrogenic blood loss in a cohort of adult haematology patients.

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A cohort study assessing the impact of small volume blood tubes on diagnostic test quality and iatrogenic blood loss in a cohort of adult haematology patients.

Intern Med J. 2018 Jan 24;:

Authors: Myles N, von Wielligh J, Kyriacou M, Ventrice T, Bik To L

Abstract
OBJECTIVES: to estimate the reduction in blood volume loss and diagnostic test quality associated with introduction of small volume blood tubes in a cohort of haematology inpatients compared to a historical comparator group.
DESIGN: prospective cohort study.
SETTING: haematology unit of a tertiary referral hospital in Adelaide.
PARTICIPANTS: haematology inpatients.
INTERVENTION: small volume blood tubes were used in an intervention cohort admitted between 2012-2013 and compared to a control cohort admitted between 2009-2010 where standard volume tubes had been used.
OUTCOME MEASURES: the diagnostic test quality, specimen integrity and total reduction in blood loss associated with small volume tubes were estimated.
RESULTS: small volume tubes demonstrated acceptable collinearity on commonly assay haematological and biochemical parameters. Small volume tubes were associated with a 42% reduction in blood volume loss equating to 8.5ml per patient per day or 180ml of blood over a three-week admission. Small volume tubes were associated with a slight but significantly increased rate of fibrin contamination of EDTA samples (0.2 to 0.5% of specimens).
CONCLUSION: small volume tubes are associated with a substantial reduction in total blood volume collected per day in haematology inpatients. They have similar diagnostic validity and sample integrity to that of standard volume containers.

PMID: 29363243 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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