Journal of emergency nursing : JEN : official publication of the Emergency Department Nurses Association
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Blood samples drawn from IV catheters have less hemolysis when 5-mL (vs 10-mL) collection tubes are used.
It is common practice for emergency nurses to draw blood for laboratory analyses into vacuum tubes from newly inserted intravenous (IV) catheters, even though this technique has been associated with an increase in sample hemolysis. No clinical nursing studies have documented the effect of collection tube size on hemolysis of samples obtained via IV catheters. ⋯ The risk of hemolyzing blood drawn from IV catheters can be significantly reduced by using 5-mL rather than 10-mL collection tubes.