Blood Sampling

Question 1

What are the four types of blood sampling?

Answer 1

1. Standard Method
2. Vacu-Tubes
3. Arterial Puncture/ Stick for Arterial Blood Gases (ABG)
4. Bone marrow aspiration at sternum or iliac crest

Question 2

What are the steps in the Standard Method?

Answer 2

• Skin/ capillary puncture
• Count cells and run crib
• By milking the finger you are pushing other tissue fluids into the sample and diluting it
• Should be lanced at the sides, by the pulp
• Draw up blood into specific pipettes (RBC/ WBC)
• Make a smear
  
  • Place drop of blood on one slide & use the edge of a second slide to smear the drop across the first slide

Question 3

What are the steps in Vacu-Tubes?

Answer 3

• Purple cap: for routine CBCs with anti-coagulant
• Red cap: for electrolyte studies, cardiac enzymes, and liver function studies (no anti-coagulants)
• Blue cap: for coagulation studies with sodium
• Yellow cap (old) or Tiger top (new): for blood culture
• Gray cap: for diabetes

Question 4

Arterial Puncture / Stick for Arterial Blood Gases (ABG)

Answer 4

• At solar site of wrist at the radial pulse

Question 5

Bone marrow aspiration at sternum or iliac crest

Answer 5

Bone marrow taken from the sternum or iliac crest