CLINICAL-EVALUATION OF SERIAL BLOOD PROCESSING AT POINT OF CARE

The Axial Separation Module (ASM(TM)), which separates whole-blood spe cimens serially in Axial Process Containers (APC(TM)), was evaluated f or clinical performance at the University of Virginia Health Sciences Center (UVA HSC) in a community-based outpatient laboratory (North Rid ge Clinic). We hypothesized that moving the task of blood separation t o point of care would reduce specimen turnaround time within the main laboratory. Blood drawn into an APC was separated in the ASM at point of care at the North Ridge Clinic. Blood drawn into a Vacutainer Tube( TM) was separated in a conventional centrifuge at the main laboratory. Turnaround time was calculated for the ''chem 17'' test from files st ored in our laboratory information system. Blood serially separated at point of care yielded turnaround time savings for specimens originati ng from the North Ridge Clinic. Average turnaround time decreased by 2 4%. Phlebotomists found no appreciable workload increase from incorpor ating the ASM as a point-of-care blood separation device. Phlebotomist s also found that they could immediately detect hemolysis. We conclude d that serial separation at point of care reduces specimen turnaround time at the main laboratory. The ASM/APC was found to be better suited for point-of-care blood separation than a conventional centrifuge. We speculate that immediate blood separation has the potential to improv e the quality of analytical results.