A patient care technician is obtaining a blood specimen from a patient. The technician should identify which of the following errors could cause specimen hemolysis?
A. Excessively massaging the antecubital space when locating a vein
B. Failing to release the tourniquet within 1 min
C. Redirecting the needle several times to locate a vein
D. Transporting the tubes horizontally
Answer (2)
Hemolysis in blood specimens can occur due to excessive massaging of the antecubital space, failing to release the tourniquet within 1 min, or redirecting the needle multiple times. Among these, excessive massaging poses the greatest risk. Proper technique is crucial to ensure the integrity of blood specimens during collection. ;
The most significant error that could cause hemolysis during blood specimen collection is excessively massaging the antecubital space when locating a vein. This practice can mechanically damage red blood cells, leading to inaccurate lab results. Other contributing factors include not releasing the tourniquet promptly and redirecting the needle multiple times.
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