By Nicholas Spies, MD
The impact of excessive cumulative blood draws on patients’ health remains a significant concern, especially in intensive care settings. Extracting large volumes of blood can cause notable iatrogenic anemia in both pediatric and adult patients. Compounding the issue, technological innovation in blood sampling technology has lagged. Yesterday’s session, “Turning down the volume: Current and future coping strategies for small volume specimens from babies through adults,” shined a much-needed spotlight on crucial advancements and strategies for getting the most out of the samples that are sent to us.
Dennis Dietzen, PhD, DABCC, FADLM, (Phoenix Children’s Hospital) started the session by highlighting the scale and scope of the problem. While the impact of blood extraction on pediatric patients often comes to mind first, he reminded the audience that this is a universal issue that affects patients of all ages. A substantial proportion of the blood collected from our inpatients for laboratory testing — maybe as much as 90% — goes to waste. Interventions aimed at using smaller volume tubes or reduced testing frequencies may offer opportunities to improve on our current systems, Dietzen said.
Then, Erin Schuler, PhD, DABCC, (Cincinnati Children’s Hospital) expanded on the important advantages and drawbacks of using total lab automation for pediatric hospitals. Based on her own laboratory’s experience, she highlighted that implementing a massive effort targeting operational efficiencies is a nuanced process that requires understanding the potential impact of such an initiative on quality indicators and sample volumes.
Finally, Susan Evans, PhD, FADLM, (BioDecisions Consulting Group), wrapped up the session by providing an insightful overview of the technical and commercial forces at play in the market as a whole. She took us through a tour of new technologies in analyzers, automation, and assays that may soon impact the clinical landscape, while highlighting exciting innovators within the field.
Altogether, the session provided a unique set of perspectives on the trials, tribulations, and opportunities that laboratorians can expect to encounter when looking to implement solutions to this important problem.
