Blood samples are a possible care by a nurse, a senior health technician, a medical laboratory technician, a inhalotherapist, a midwife, a medical specialist, a doctor or a medical technologist
Preparation for the blood take
The majority of laboratory tests do not require any particular preparation before a blood intake. When necessary, the laboratory will indicate the basic precautions for the preparation for blood tests, but as a last spring, it is the treatment doctor who must specify any specific requirement. Some activities can affect results such as recent or excessive physical exercise, lack of liquid intake (dehydration) or, in some individuals, sexual activity (PSA / PSA measure). It is important to inform the staff of the sampling centre of any deviation to the specific requirements for this information to appear in the final report and facilitate its interpretation (not fasting or fasting of a shorter time, time of the last take of some medicines before The sample, etc. ). Don’t forget to bring the prescription signed by the health care professional!
Conditions of fasting
Fasting is only rarely required for an appropriate interpretation of the results. Food intake can mainly increase the level of glucose and triglycerides necessary for the calculation of cholesterol-LDL (bad cholesterol). However, the automatic measurement of haemoglobin haemoglobin levels when the rate of glucose is high, or the calculation of the non-HDL cholesterol fraction, as recommended now by the Canadian heart society, can also establish the diagnosis and the Follow-up of diabetes or cholesterol disorders on a non-fasting sample.
Process of the sample
After being properly identified with an official photo card, we invite you to sit comfortably in a slightly tilted chair. We usually take the blood from an arm’s veins to make a blood intake. After washing her hands, the sample attendant will brief your arm with a goldeneye (Elastic Band) in order to make the veins more visible. It is possible that you are also asked to temporarily squeeze the fist to make the veins togeter more. It will clean and cleanse the skin before insert a barrel with needle into the veins. The barrel will fill all the necessary blood tubes without having to change the needle. In some cases where the veins of both arms are difficult to use, you can take blood at the end of the finger by a technique called “Micro-method”. this approach that uses smaller sample tubes is often Privileged among the very young children. When all samples have been carried out, the needle is removed. A slight pressure is applied to the area where the needle has been insert until the bleeding stops. We may put a little adhesive dressing in it.
A label with your name and other relevant information will then be placed on each tube used. It is of the highest importance that you will remember that each tube is well identified in your name.
Side effects of the blood intake
Blood shots usually don’t cause any side effects. Some patients feel a small sting or burn during the insert of the needle into the forearm veins. Others feel a slight vagal discomfort when the needle is removed. In very rare situations, especially during difficult samples (evasive veins, moving needle) it can form a little swelling or a bruises at the point of samples that will disappear in a few days.
Amount of blood collected
The amount of blood collected is very small. A Lavender Cap Tube for the complete blood formula contains 4 Milliliters, a month of a blood tea spoonful while the largest tubes for the biochemical and other tests will contain about one and a half tea spoonful of blood. An elaborate blood balance including 4 TO 5 sample tubes will require in total barely a spoonful at the blood table (15 ml); a very small fraction of the approximately 4 TO 5 litres of blood that Contains our body.
The Tubes used during blood intake are characterized by the color of their cork. This colour indicates the presence in the tube of substances either to prevent blood blood (Lavender, green or blue cap) or to promote faster blood (Yellow or red cap). Some tubes also contain a gel that facilitate the separation between the liquid part of the blood (Serum or plasma) and the cells held in the blood (Red blood cells, white blood cells, pads).
There is a strict order of the use of tubes to prevent the blood thinners contained in a tube to prevent the next tube. The Biron service points staff are very used to respect the pre-Defined Sequence: Blue Cap Tube first followed by the one with yellow or red cap, then green, then lavender, etc. Each tube must be immediately inverted several times to mix the blood well with, depending on the case, the heparin or the heparin accelerator.
Stability of the samples
Depending on the required blood tests and the distance between the point of sample and the laboratory, the blood tubes will have to be stabilized. Tubes containing anticoagulated blood (Lavender or blue cap) will usually be refrigerated until they are used in the laboratory. Serum Tubes (Yellow or red cap) will have to be centrifuged quickly to allow the separation of the serum before they are refrigeration. The best practices for the stability of the samples indicate that the temperature of containers used to transport tubes from the point of samples to the laboratory is monitored to avoid exposure of the samples to appropriate hot or cold temperatures.
The common practice in several points of samples of the samples of the samples before being sent to a central laboratory where the serum will be separated from the blood can be used in a central laboratory where the serum will be separated from the blood of the In fact, the refrigeration of total blood can result in false high potassium results. These false results often raise concerns and require the resume of the test on a new specimen. Our Health Care Professionals ensure that all conditions of stability are well respected, before and during transport to our central laboratory