Week Two Flashcards
How do you get plasma and serum?
Plasma and serum are created when centrifuging (spinning) the tubes this allows the separation of heavier formed cellular such as RBC (red-blood cells), WBC (white-blood cells), and platelets these create a lighter, yellow-tinted fluid.
Difference between Plasma and Serum.
You cannot only tell the difference between the two fluids through the clotting factors in the fluid.
What is Plasma?
A liquid portion of unclotted blood that still contains the clotting factors.
What are the tubes used for plasma?
Light Blue, Green (light and dark), Pink, Lavender, Royal Blue (both red and lavender stripes), and Gray
What is Serum?
The liquid portion of blood that has to clot (coagulate). *Clotting factors are no longer present as they have been used to clot the blood.
What are the tubes used for serum?
Clear (discard tube), Red (glass), Red (plastic-will have clot activator), Tiger Top/ Gold Top/ Marble Top, Royal Blue (red stripes)
How should you collect samples?
By using the approved “order of draw.”
What should you do if you mislabel a tube?
If a tube is mislabeled the phlebotomist should not transfer the specimen to another tube because the measure of the original additive could be altered.
What is the CLSI approved Order Of Draw?
- Aerobic Blood Culture
- Anaerobic Blood Culture
- Clear/Red Disposable Tubes
- Light Blue Tubes
- Dark/Royal Blue Tubes with red stripes
- Red Tube
- Marble/Gold/Tiger Top SST Tubes
- Lighter Green Tubes
- Dark Green Tubes
- Pink Tubes
- Lavender Tubes
- Dark/Royal Blue Tubes with lavender Tubes
- Gray
What color of tube is always the last to be drawn?
Gray tube
Why would you use a discard tube?
This tube is used to avoid thrombin (the enzyme in blood plasma that causes clotting in the blood) and other cells that could contaminate the samples that were drawn.
Why does the aerobic blood culture tube go first?
The reason why you use the aerobic blood culture first is because you want to get rid of any oxygen in your tube line before using the anaerobic blood culture.
What is the difference between anaerobic and aerobic?
Aerobic means with oxygen and anaerobic means without oxygen.
What tube needs to be filled all the way?
Light Blue Top Tubes
Besides the Light blue tube how much should the rest of the tubes be filled?
The other tubes should be filled ⅔ of the way.
