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Abstract
BackgroundDue to the high prevalence of hemolysis in specimens received from the emergency department (ED), several strategies have been proposed to improve sample quality, but none of these seem effective to overcome the problem. In a preliminary study we showed that the use of S-Monovette blood collection system was effective to lower the risk of hemolysis in venous blood samples collected from intravenous catheters. This study was hence aimed to verify whether the replacement of a conventional vacuum system with S-Monovette may be effective to reduce the burden of hemolysis in the daily practice of a large urban ED.Materials and methodsThe study was divided in two observational periods of 4 months each. In the former period, blood was collected from intravenous catheters using BD Vacutainer SST II Plus plastic serum tubes, whereas in the latter period the blood was drawn from intravenous catheters using S-Monovette blood tubes in aspiration mode. Sample hemolysis was automatically assessed in all serum samples by photometrical measurement.ResultsThe total number of hemolysed serum specimens was 624/14155 (4.41%) in the first phase of the study, and 342/13319 (2.57%) in the second phase of the study (P < 0.001).ConclusionResults of our study confirm that the introduction of the Sarstedt S-Monovette blood tubes has reduced the hemolysis rate in the emergency department compared to the previously used BD Vacutainer® SST II Plus plastic serum tubes.
Highlights
Sample hemolysis is universally regarded as a major challenge for the quality of diagnostic testing
Results of our study confirm that the introduction of the Sarstedt S-Monovette blood tubes has reduced the hemolysis rate in the emergency department compared to the previously used BD Vacutainer® SST II Plus plastic serum tubes
This study was based on the systematic identification of hemolysis in serum samples received in the clinical laboratory of the University Hospital of Parma from the local emergency department (ED), a large urban facility with approximately 92.000 visits per year
Summary
Sample hemolysis is universally regarded as a major challenge for the quality of diagnostic testing. The prevalence of hemolysed specimens is high in those healthcare settings where blood is drawn from intravenous lines (2), which typically include short stay units such as the emergency department (ED), intensive care units, paediatric and oncology wards. Due to the high prevalence of hemolysis in samples received from the ED, several strategies were proposed to overcome the problem (3). Due to the high prevalence of hemolysis in specimens received from the emergency department (ED), several strategies have been proposed to improve sample quality, but none of these seem effective to overcome the problem.
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