Sample Collection
A Cane Corso was hit by a car he came into your clinic and you decide to run a blood gas panel on him. What gauge needle are you choosing and what tube would you use?
21-22 gauge needle
Green tube
What test tubes can you freeze and what ones can you not freeze
Freeze: Green, red, blue
Do not freeze: Purple
You run a CBC Chem 17 on a Greyhound that has no known medical issues and is generally healthy. You notice that Stacys RBCs and ALK PHOS are slightly high. What would you recommend to the owner and why.
Nothing, because some healthy animals have values outside the RI and some unhealthy animals have values within the RI
You draw blood on Winston the dog to be sent out to ANTECH. The blood is in a purple tube which you put into the freezer. What type or error is this or is there no error?
pre-analytical error
Name 2 reasons why clinical pathology is helpful
can sometimes provide a definitive diagnosis
can help narrow down differential list
can help guide decisions towards next diagnostic steps
can help monitor a disease state or treatment
Can detect pre-clinical disease
can determine drug toxicity
A lethargic lizard comes into your clinic, you need to run a CBC quickly! What tube should you use and how long should you wait before you put this tube in the centrifuge ?
Green
You can centrifuge immediately
You wanted to run a flow cytometry but you underfilled this tube. What would happen to the cells as a result?
cells will shrink
What are 2 reasons why a value may be outside of the RI
Disease
Biological variables
Errors
You ran blood on your patient and used reference intervals from the wrong book what type of error is this.
post-analytical error
Name 2 things that clinical pathology cannot do
Always provide a definitive diagnosis
Always predict an outcome
Replace a good physical exam and history
Replace other diagnostic test
What are the mechanisms of action for all 4 tubes discussed in class
Red: N/A
Purple: chelates Ca
Green: enhances antithrombin
Blue: binds Calcium
What tube should you submit urine in
purple
Name an advantage and disadvantage of in clinic testing
Advantages: Rapid turn-around time, Control over testing, Can be economically beneficial, Potentially improved client satisfaction, Minimize pre-analytical errors due to transportation, Additional source of revenue
Disadvantages: Training of operator, Cost of equipment, Equipment maintenance, Potential need for expertise or consultation, Space for instrument, reagents, microscope, stains, etc. required
Name 2 examples of an analytical error
Inappropriate method for species
• Instrument quality
• Reagent quality
• Interfering substances
• Erroneous microscopic settings
A horse named Stanley comes into your clinic you wanna run a Coombs test. What size needle and test tube will you choose?
18-20 gauge
Purple tube
Name the 4 tubes and one test they are best used for
Red Top: Serum chemistry, protien electrophoresis, and culture
Purple: CBC, PCV, TS, blood smear
Green: plasma chemistry, STAT chemistry
Blue: coagulation tests
You need to run a coagulation test what is really important to remember during sample handling
MUST FILL TO THE APPROPRIATE LINE
Name an advantage and disadvantage of off site testing (veterinary specific)
Advantages: Often cost-effective, Quality instrumentation and personnel, Often greater species-specific expertise, Technologist and pathologist
consultation available
Disadvantage: Turn-around-times slower than
in-clinic testing, and Courier service and/or
overnight shipping can be costly
name 2 examples of a pre analytical error
Patient preparation
• Collection method
• Inappropriate tube
• Poor handling
• Poor storage
• Labeling error
• Delayed processing
What are the types of interference indices
lipemic, hemolytic, and icterus index
Name the colors of the test tubes discussed in class and their anticoagulant
Red top: none
Purple Top: EDTA
Green Top: Heparin
Blue Top: Citrate
you are running a serum chemistry what kind of error can occur if there is prolonged contact of plasma with cells
pre-analytical errors
What is the purpose of interference indices
reports sample quality and possibility for
analytical errors
In house testing can prevent what kind of error
pre-analytical
What tubes can you use to test for body cavity effusion analysis
red and purple