Phlebotomy question

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Hi everyone!

This is a question for all of you nurses out there. I am working on a research study and we have to collect blood samples. Our phlebotomist is not going to be around for a few months (until the study starts), so I can't ask them questions.

We need to test for fasting lipids, fasting plasma glucose, serum creatinine, CK, K, ALT (or AST). What tubes (stopper colours) do we need for these tests?

Thanks!

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

Ask the lab that will be processing your samples.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

Welcome to AN!

Is this for school or work? What is the study? We are nurses not phlebotomists.

This site may help....Clinical Laboratory - University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences - Where Medicine Lives

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Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.

Go to the Quest lab site and you can see what goes in which tube. I think you would only need a couple tiger tops for all of those, but check to make sure. There are several on-line phlebotomy forums you can google that have this info also. I always check with whatever lab will run them to verify though as different labs may have different requirements.

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The fasting plasma glucose would go in a gray top, the rest in a gold or tiger top (a SST tube). I've never drawn a FPG so I don't know the instructions to draw that one but a gold top is always spun down in a centrifuge (invert the tube 8 time, than let sit upright for at least 30 min, than spun down for at least 15 min). The creatinine, K+, and AST are all included in a CMP test as well, which would also go in a gold top.

Hope this helps! I draw all the labs at my work and I love it, so if you have any other questions feel free to ask!

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Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.

I agree, check with the lab. At our hospital, all these labs could come from one light green tube.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.
The fasting plasma glucose would go in a gray top, the rest in a gold or tiger top (a SST tube). I've never drawn a FPG so I don't know the instructions to draw that one but a gold top is always spun down in a centrifuge (invert the tube 8 time, than let sit upright for at least 30 min, than spun down for at least 15 min). The creatinine, K+, and AST are all included in a CMP test as well, which would also go in a gold top.

Hope this helps! I draw all the labs at my work and I love it, so if you have any other questions feel free to ask!

OP, I really hope that you don't take any action based upon internet opinions. Facilities are different, and although there is some standardization, there can always be exceptions.

My original advice stands: for a 100% correct answer, you must ask the lab that will process the labs. For all you know, there's a specific protocol with specific tubes for your research project. None of us could possibly know what circumstances around your project.

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I would check with the lab also :)

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Just check with the lab ^^ when I first start on a new job I jut go down to the lab and ask them and they printed a paper they they already have with them with all the requirement for each test

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Sometimes the tubes are different colors depending on the which facility you work , I suggest you ask the lab department where you work this question; Please check with the hospital you work at .

One thing I learned in my phlebotomy class is sometimes the colors are different depending on where you work from hospitals , to doctor's offices even the handling of the needles are different .

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Specializes in Ambulatory Care-Family Medicine.

Different manufactures use different tubes so they will be different colors. You have to ask the lab that the testing will be done through. I've worked for two different local hospitals and their tube colors are different so I tell you from experience, colors vary from lab to lab.

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Specializes in Geriatrics.

When I first started working as a nurse I would always call the lab and ask what color tube they needed for such and such... i probably sounded ridiculous to them, but they were happy to answer me and I got the labs back so win win

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