Phlebotomy question

Hi everyone!

This is a question for all of you nurses out there. I am working on a research study and we have to collect blood samples. Our phlebotomist is not going to be around for a few months (until the study starts), so I can't ask them questions.

We need to test for fasting lipids, fasting plasma glucose, serum creatinine, CK, K, ALT (or AST). What tubes (stopper colours) do we need for these tests?

Thanks!
Ask the lab that will be processing your samples.

Welcome to AN!Is this for school or work? What is the study? We are nurses not phlebotomists. This site may help....Clinical Laboratory - University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences - Where Medicine Lives

Go to the Quest lab site and you can see what goes in which tube. I think you would only need a couple tiger tops for all of those, but check to make sure. There are several on-line phlebotomy forums you can google that have this info also. I always check with whatever lab will run them to verify though as different labs may have different requirements.

The fasting plasma glucose would go in a gray top, the rest in a gold or tiger top (a SST tube). I've never drawn a FPG so I don't know the instructions to draw that one but a gold top is always spun down in a centrifuge (invert the tube 8 time, than let sit upright for at least 30 min, than spun down for at least 15 min). The creatinine, K+, and AST are all included in a CMP test as well, which would also go in a gold top. Hope this helps! I draw all the labs at my work and I love it, so if you have any other questions feel free to ask!

I agree, check with the lab. At our hospital, all these labs could come from one light green tube.

Quote from NurseQTThe fasting plasma glucose would go in a gray top, the rest in a gold or tiger top (a SST tube). I've never drawn a FPG so I don't know the instructions to draw that one but a gold top is always spun down in a centrifuge (invert the tube 8 time, than let sit upright for at least 30 min, than spun down for at least 15 min). The creatinine, K+, and AST are all included in a CMP test as well, which would also go in a gold top. Hope this helps! I draw all the labs at my work and I love it, so if you have any other questions feel free to ask!