How far should a tourniquet be placed from the puncture site?

How far should a tourniquet be placed from the puncture site?

You should place a tourniquet 3 to 4 in (7.6 to 10.2 cm) above the site, tying it tight enough to slow venous blood flow and loose enough not to impede arterial blood flow. Tie the tourniquet using a quick release knot, with the ends pointed away from the venipuncture site and the loop pointed toward the site.

How many inches should the tourniquet be placed?

Place the tourniquet between the injured vessel and the heart, about 2 inches from the closest wound edge. There should be no foreign objects (for example, items in a pocket) beneath the tourniquet.

When applying a tourniquet on a patient’s arm it is best to apply it how high above the puncture site?

Apply the tourniquet 3-4 inches above the selected puncture site. Do not place too tightly or leave on more than 2 minutes (and no more than a minute to avoid increasing risk for hemoconcentration). Wait 2 minutes before reapplying the tourniquet.

Why a phlebotomist must never place a tourniquet on an arm above an IV site?

Never place a tourniquet on an arm above the IV site, because you may dislodge the IV needle placement, resulting in infiltration of tissues with the IV fluid. Never draw blood from above an IV site because the blood will be contaminated with the IV fluids resulting in inaccurate results.

Why is it important to to use the correct order of draw?

Order of draw is essential in avoiding cross contamination from additives of one tube to the next. Cross contamination, depending on the tests ordered, could cause seriously erroneous results, improper patient treatment and possibly death.

What is the proper order of draw?

This is known as the Order of Draw.

• Blood Culture Tubes or Vials.
• Coagulation Tubes (Blue-Top Tubes)
• Serum Tubes without Clot Activator or Gel (Red-Top tubes)
• Serum Tubes with Clot Activator or Gel (Gold or Tiger Top Tubes)
• Heparin Tubes (Green-Top Tubes)
• EDTA Tubes (Lavender-Top Tubes)

What happens if the proper order of draw is not followed?

In the era of lyophilized anticoagulants, order of draw is no longer important. Contamination of serum samples with K EDTA will occur routinely if order of draw is not followed. During syringe collections, contamination with K EDTA may rarely occur if order of draw is not followed.

What is the correct order of draw for ETS?

The draw order for specimen tubes is as follows: Red No Gel. Gold SST (Plain tube w/gel and clot activator additive) Green and Dark Green (Heparin, with and without gel) Lavender (EDTA)

What order do you take blood samples?

The recommended order is as follows:

1. Blood culture tubes.
2. Sodium citrate tubes (e.g., blue-stopper)
3. Serum tubes with or without clot activator, with or without gel separator (e.g., red-, gold-, speckled-stopper)
4. Heparin tubes with or without gel (e.g., green-stopper)
5. EDTA tubes (e.g., lavender-stopper)

What tubes are always drawn first in a standard order of draw?

The order of draw is based on CLSI Procedures and Devices for the Collection of Capillary Blood Specimens; Approved Standard – Sixth Edition, September 2008. This standard recommends that EDTA tubes be drawn first to ensure good quality specimen, followed by other additive tubes and finally, serum specimen tubes.

Which formed element is the first to play a role in sealing an injury to a blood vessel?

Blood clotting normally occurs when there is damage to a blood vessel. Platelets immediately begin to adhere to the cut edges of the vessel and release chemicals to attract even more platelets.

What are the 3 stages of blood clotting?

1) Constriction of the blood vessel. 2) Formation of a temporary “platelet plug.” 3) Activation of the coagulation cascade. 4) Formation of “fibrin plug” or the final clot.

What percentage of blood is formed elements?

45%

What happens from initial injury to successful clotting?

In response to the injury, tiny cells in the blood called platelets are activated. The platelets stick to one another and to the wound site to form a plug. The protein von Willebrand factor (VWF) helps the platelets stick to each other and to the blood vessel wall. Fibrin clot.

Which vitamin is required for blood clotting?

What is vitamin K and what does it do? Vitamin K is a nutrient that the body needs to stay healthy. It’s important for blood clotting and healthy bones and also has other functions in the body.

What are the 12 clotting factors?

The following are coagulation factors and their common names:

• Factor I – fibrinogen.
• Factor II – prothrombin.
• Factor III – tissue thromboplastin (tissue factor)
• Factor IV – ionized calcium ( Ca++ )
• Factor V – labile factor or proaccelerin.
• Factor VI – unassigned.
• Factor VII – stable factor or proconvertin.