Did You Know...?

• 61% of all accidental needlesticks sustained during phlebotomy procedures occur within seconds of when the needle is removed from the patient's arm? (CDC)
• laboratorians do not report up to 92% of the accidental needlesticks they sustain? (source)
• 93.2% of all venipunctures are successful on the first attempt?
• two out of five nurses surveyed wouldn't recommend their health care facility to a family member?
• 35% of patients feel more discomfort during a venipuncture than they expected?
• as many as 10 different healthcare workers are involved in the complex process of transfusing blood? 
• a study found 55% of all ED patients at one UK hospital were without identification bands?
• an armband attached to the bedrail identifies the bedrail, not the patient?
• punctures on the fingers should be done across the fingerprint, not parallel to them? (CLSI)
• potassium, total protein and calcium levels are lower in skin puncture blood than in venous blood? (CLSI)
• excessive crying can temporarily elevate white blood cell counts in infants? (CLSI)
• in one study, 24 of 121 surgeries had to be interrupted due to the patient's reaction to a latex exposure with 14 of those requiring transfer to the intensive care unit?
• bacteremia involving E. coli can exist in the bloodstream in concentrations as low as one organism per ml of blood? 
• labs that report erroneous laboratory results from blood specimens that are compromised by poor specimen collection practices set themselves up for claims of negligence?
• underfilled EDTA tubes yield a falsely lower hematocrit because red cells shrink when blood is excessively anticoagulated?
• the average phlebotomist commits 3.5 procedural errors per draw?
• the first evidence that collection tube additives carryover and can corrupt the results obtained in the next tube appeared in the literature in 1977?
• in most states, you need a license to cut someone's hair or raise pigs, but not if you want to sink a needle into their vein to draw blood?
• when citrate tubes for protimes are refrigerated before testing, cold activation of Factor VII can lead to shortened protime results? (CLSI)?

 Bloggers Note: for more tasty tidbits, consider getting a copy of The Lab Draw Answer Book. It's like having Dennis's brain on your desk, only without the formaldehyde.