A "full" light blue top tube

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Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.

I have alluded to this in the past, and I'm just wondering what others' experiences are with this...

I was recently helping a nurse draw blood on a very confused older pt. In an attempt to finish drawing blood before the pt. bit here, the nurse pulled the light blue tube (for coags) off the adaptor before the tube was filled all the way (it was not even close to being filled) and said "that's good enough" and the lab ran it. On the other hand, I have gotten calls from the lab saying that I have to recollect the blue tube because it was not full enough. I was pretty sure it was full, but I drew another one, double checked that it was all the way full, and, sure enough, got the call that the tube was not filled enough. :grumpy:

Has anyone else noticed an inconsistency in how their lab treats blue tube samples?

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I've had calls about light blue tops not being filled enough.

Top off those suckers!

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Specializes in Going to Peds!.

There's a line on our coag tubes. Any less than that is a recollect.

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Specializes in Public Health, L&D, NICU.

LOL, I was interested to see where this thread was going! A nurse trying to justify wearing a tube top instead of a scrub top because it was "full" was what came to mind. :roflmao:

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Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.
LOL, I was interested to see where this thread was going! A nurse trying to justify wearing a tube top instead of a scrub top because it was "full" was what came to mind. :roflmao:

I must say, this theme didn't even cross my mind when I made the title

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Specializes in Public Health, L&D, NICU.

I'm having one of those mornings, I'm probably the only one whose mind went there.

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Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.
I'm having one of those mornings, I'm probably the only one whose mind went there.

Plus, wouldn't it be a "full, light blue tube top" if I was talking about clothes. ;)

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Specializes in ICU.

In nursing school, they teach you to fill to the line on each tube, but never WHY. Often during orientation, new hires get a 50 cent tour of the lab and pharmacy, so here's an idea ... show new nurses someone actually RUNNING a tube so it's clear why things are done the way they are. (and show us the refrigerator where all those lost labs roll under) :wideyed:

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I'm having one of those mornings I'm probably the only one whose mind went there.[/quote']

No. My mind went there too. Haha.

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Plus, wouldn't it be a "full, light blue tube top" if I was talking about clothes. ;)

Wellllll, ummm, maybe ...

::remembering when my 10-month old in the grocery cart kiddie seat decided it was snack time in the produce aisle and yanked mine right down... yellow, though ... .::

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Specializes in I/DD.

My mind went to tube tops too, but I re-read it a couple times and got the point.

The blue tube MUST be full because in order to run coats they use a ratio of (citrate?) with blood, if the ratio is incorrect the value is inaccurate. Someone is more than welcome to correct me/go into detail as to the "why."

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Specializes in Neuro ICU and Med Surg.

Yep blue top must be full. I will make sure that one is full and the rest can be less than full if the pt has bad veins.

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