A "full" light blue top tube

I have alluded to this in the past, and I'm just wondering what others' experiences are with this...

I was recently helping a nurse draw blood on a very confused older pt. In an attempt to finish drawing blood before the pt. bit here, the nurse pulled the light blue tube (for coags) off the adaptor before the tube was filled all the way (it was not even close to being filled) and said "that's good enough" and the lab ran it. On the other hand, I have gotten calls from the lab saying that I have to recollect the blue tube because it was not full enough. I was pretty sure it was full, but I drew another one, double checked that it was all the way full, and, sure enough, got the call that the tube was not filled enough.

Has anyone else noticed an inconsistency in how their lab treats blue tube samples?
I've had calls about light blue tops not being filled enough. Top off those suckers!

There's a line on our coag tubes. Any less than that is a recollect.

LOL, I was interested to see where this thread was going! A nurse trying to justify wearing a tube top instead of a scrub top because it was "full" was what came to mind.

Quote from monkeybugLOL, I was interested to see where this thread was going! A nurse trying to justify wearing a tube top instead of a scrub top because it was "full" was what came to mind.

I'm having one of those mornings, I'm probably the only one whose mind went there.

Quote from monkeybugI'm having one of those mornings, I'm probably the only one whose mind went there.

In nursing school, they teach you to fill to the line on each tube, but never WHY. Often during orientation, new hires get a 50 cent tour of the lab and pharmacy, so here's an idea ... show new nurses someone actually RUNNING a tube so it's clear why things are done the way they are. (and show us the refrigerator where all those lost labs roll under)

Quote from monkeybugI'm having one of those mornings, I'm probably the only one whose mind went there.

Quote from psu_213Plus, wouldn't it be a "full, light blue tube top" if I was talking about clothes.

My mind went to tube tops too, but I re-read it a couple times and got the point.The blue tube MUST be full because in order to run coats they use a ratio of (citrate?) with blood, if the ratio is incorrect the value is inaccurate. Someone is more than welcome to correct me/go into detail as to the "why."

Yep blue top must be full. I will make sure that one is full and the rest can be less than full if the pt has bad veins.

I do a lot of lab draws for my job (research) and while pretty much every other tube, it doesn't matter how much is in it, the light blue tube is filled with about 15% sodium citrate, and the ratio of Na Citrate to blood has to be correct in order for it to be accurate. That's pretty much the only tube where that matters. It needs to be 80% filled (generally to the top of the label) for it to be good. And of course, as with all other tubes (except a red top, which is a clot tube), you need to invert it 5-10 times after drawing in order to mix the medium with the blood.