Improving patient care with better blood gas preanalytics

September 22, 2017

Presented by Anne Skurup, MS, Editor-in-Chief of acutecaretesting.org, and Manager, Clinical Affairs, at Radiometer

Playback/slides

About this webinar

This webinar is produced by Whitehat Communications and sponsored by Radiometer and acutecaretesting.org. It is an updated version of the session originally presented in October 2016. 

Preanalytical errors are said to be the reason for up to 62% of all errors in laboratory medicine. Seven percent of percutaneous needlestick injuries are reported to occur in intensive and cardiac care units and operating rooms. [1-2]

Bias on the hemoglobin results can be caused by insufficient mixing and may affect decisions for blood transfusion, whereas a trapped air bubble may give erroneous pO2 results. A test result attributed to the wrong patient due to a labeling error also carries the risk of misdiagnosis and incorrect treatment, while the choice of blood gas sampling devices may also affect sample integrity.

Preanalytics is without a doubt the first step for accurate blood gas results. During this webinar, Ms. Skurup will describe the most typical preanalytical errors, how each error affects patient results, and, most importantly, how to control them.

References: 
1Carraro P et al. Errors in a stat laboratory: Types and frequencies 10 years later. Clin Chem 2007; 53,7: 1338-42 
2Perry J, Jagger J. Reducing sharps injury risk in intensive care www.acutecaretesting.org Jun 2005

About this speaker

Anne Skurup has a master’s degree in science from the University of Copenhagen and, over the past 25 years, has held a variety of positions at Radiometer. Most of Anne’s career has been in Clinical and Scientific affairs, supporting healthcare professionals with scientific information around acute care testing. 

Anne is also the editor-in-chief of www.acutecaretesting.org, a website sponsored and maintained by Radiometer. www.acutecaretesting.org contains more than 500 scientific articles and abstracts written by global experts and healthcare professionals. Topics covered include blood gases, cardiac markers, infection, preanalytical errors and point-of-care testing. Over the years Anne has been involved with the AACC CPOCT division, and is currently a member of the IFCC task force for POCT.

Who should attend?

  • Laboratorians  
  • Point of care coordinators  
  • Respiratory therapists  
  • Nurses

Continuing education

  • One P.A.C.E.® contact-hour will be provided for this complimentary basic level session. Whitehat Communications is approved as a provider of continuing education programs in the clinical laboratory sciences by the ASCLS P.A.C.E.® Program.
  • This session is approved for 1 Florida CE credit. Florida Board of Clinical Laboratory Personnel approved number: 50-12563.
  • Application has been made to the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) for continuing education contact hours for respiratory therapists.  

This webinar will:

  • Review the reasons why careful attention to the preanalytical phase helps to avoid risk to patients 
  • Identify the steps for healthcare provider to help avoid preanalytical errors 
  • Discuss how preanalytical errors can effect patient results and how these errors can be avoided

Cookies are used on this website

Use of cookies