What are some troubleshooting issues in venipuncture

Complications that can arise from venepuncture include haematoma forma- tion, nerve damage, pain, haemaconcentration, extra- vasation, iatrogenic anaemia, arterial puncture, pete- chiae, allergies, fear and phobia, infection, syncope and fainting, excessive bleeding, edema and thrombus.

What are the four most common problems that occur with venipuncture?

Serious complications were defined as cellulitis, phlebitis, diaphoresis, hypotension, near syncope, syncope, and seizure activity. Results: Minor bruising and hematoma were fairly common, involving 12.3% of venipunctures, with minor bruising being the most common reaction.

What are the possible effects of a poorly performed venipuncture?

Unsafe phlebotomy can cause adverse effects for patients; such effects are rare, but range from pain or bruising at the site of puncture, to fainting, nerve damage and haematoma.

What is the most common complication of venipuncture?

Hematoma: The most common complication of phlebotomy procedure. venipuncture on that vein. appear on the skin from rupturing of the capillaries due to the tourniquet being left on too long or too tight.

What are the different reasons why a phlebotomist fails to obtain blood?

Small or Hard-to-Find Veins. This is one of the most common causes of a difficult blood draw. …
Inelastic Veins. …
Scars from Intravenous Drug Use. …
Chemotherapy. …
Students in Medical Lab Tech Courses Should Be Mindful of Trypanophobic Patients.

What are the most common errors in specimen collection?

Two of the most common errors that occur during specimen collection and handling are clotting and inaccurate volume. Exposure to temperature extremes may also cause specimens to be rejected for testing.

What are 5 complications of venipuncture?

Why are valves problematic in blood samples?

Hitting a valve during access can cause a vein to be blown if the valve flap were to obstruct the flow of the solutions being administered, and this can cause the patient pain.

What additive prevents glycolysis?

Sodium fluoride acts as the glycolytic inhibitor and prevents the cells in the blood from utilizing the glucose.

What are the four phlebotomy techniques?

Results. Four different ways of taking blood were observed: cannulation and a syringe (38%), cannula with evacuated tube and adaptor (42%), syringe and needle into vein (14%) and evacuated tube system used conventionally (6%).

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What are some reasons for specimen rejection?

The most common reasons for specimen rejection were contamination (n=764, 35.1%), inappropriate collection container/tube (n=330, 15.2%), quantity not sufficient (QNS) (n=329, 15.1%), labeling errors (n=321, 14.7%), hemolyzed specimen (n=205, 9.4%), and clotted specimen (n=203, 9.3%).

What must be done if the phlebotomist was unable to collect blood specimen on the patient?

If the patient is unable, you should continue to apply pressure to the site until bleeding has stopped. Failure to apply adequate pressure can result in a hematoma, or bruise, to the draw site. Tourniquets are discarded immediately after use.

What are complications of a primary collection?

Nervousness.
Itching of the skin.
Feeling of confusion.
Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
Abdominal or back pain.
There will be flushing, pallor, or cyanosis.
Urticaria.
Laryngeal edema leads to stridor.

What are the 5 most common errors occurring in your laboratory?

patient ID error.
lost sample.
sample delayed in transit.
contaminated samples.
wrong test performed.
test performed inconsistent with the written procedure.

What is the most common lab error?

The most common lab errors in the collection of the samples and reporting are: Wrong labeling of the sample. The technique of the blood sample: This is very important to follow an excellent technique to collect good quality blood.

What are the lab errors?

Laboratory error is defined as any defect from ordering tests to reporting and interpretation of results. Laboratory errors have a reported frequency of 0.012-0.6% of all test results which in turn has huge impact on diagnosis and patient management as 60–70% of all diagnosis are made on the basis of laboratory tests.

What is EDTA used for in phlebotomy?

EDTA stands for Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid. EDTA functions by binding calcium in the blood and keeping the blood from clotting. … BD Vacutainer Plus Blood Collection Tubes contain K2EDTA, which is spray-dried to the walls of the tube.

What are anticoagulant tubes?

Most blood collection tubes contain an additive that either accelerates clotting of the blood (clot activator) or prevents the blood from clotting (anticoagulant). …

What is PST in phlebotomy?

A PST specialist, or patient services technician specialist, typically works in a lab and has similar job duties as a phlebotomist. In this role, you collect samples from patients, such as blood or urine, and process and store the specimens according to proper handling procedures.

What are the complications of IV cannulation?

Complications include infection, phlebitis and thrombophlebitis, emboli, pain, haematoma or haemorrhage, extravasation, arterial cannulation and needlestick injuries. Careful adherence to guidelines and procedures can minimise these risks.

What is IV valve?

A device that allows flow in one direction and automatically prevents reverse flow if the fluid in the line reverses direction. Back check valves can offer greater safety during IV therapy by preventing fluid exchange or backflow. … IV extravasations can result in blisters on the skin.

How do you encourage venous fillings?

Asking the patient to open and close their fist may encourage venous filling (Dougherty and Lister, 2004). This may be complemented by using gravity to encourage filling.

What are the 3 main veins to draw blood?

3.05. The most site for venipuncture is the antecubital fossa located in the anterior elbow at the fold. This area houses three veins: the cephalic, median cubital, and basilic veins (Figure 1).

What is lumen in phlebotomy?

Lumen: A luminous term referring to the channel within a tube such as a blood vessel or to the cavity within a hollow organ such as the intestine.

Which vein is the first choice for venipuncture?

The antecubital area of the arm is usually the first choice for routine venipuncture. This area contains the three vessels primarily used by the phlebotomist to obtain venous blood specimens: the median cubital, the cephalic and the basilic veins.

Why do blood tests get rejected?

The most frequent cause of rejection of sample—43.8% of cases—was a clot in the total blood and/or plasma sample, followed by insufficient sample volume (24%); the reason for rejection by hemolyzed sample, in turn, was the third most frequent cause, involving 17.9% of cases.

What are the different safety precautions during venipuncture?

One of the simplest, yet most important, safety precautions that the phlebotomist uses is gloves. Gloves provide protection against inadvertent contact with a patient’s blood. Almost as important as wearing gloves is disposing of them.

How can specimen labeling errors be reduced?

Use at Least Two Patient Identifiers. …
Enforce Periodic Quality Audits for Proper Labeling. …
Implement Barcode ID System.

Which risks should the phlebotomist be aware of when drawing blood from a paralyzed limb?

If an arm is paralyzed, the venous pump is lost, dramatically increasing the risk of vein thrombosis. No matter how good your technique, you disrupt the vein’s tunica intima and traumatize the vein every time you perform venipuncture.

Why can't you draw blood from an IV?

Blood that is drawn from a vein that has an intravenous (IV) line may be diluted by the IV fluid. This can ultimately affect the accuracy of the blood test results. Therefore, an arm containing an IV should not be used to draw blood specimens if it can be avoided.

What is postoperative complication?

Postoperative complications are problems that can happen after you have had surgery but which were not intended. Doctors are aware of the risk of complications and take steps before, during and after surgery to reduce this risk.