Laboratory

Description

Laboratory Services provides a comprehensive range of diagnostic testing and clinical and consultative services

Specimen Collection and Identification

Test results will be useless or possibly totally misleading if testing is not performed on a valid specimen A valid specimen is one that is: Collected from the correct patient, into the correct container, and has received the correct handling before testing Not contaminated by IV fluid. Contamination can cause high results (infusion of a concentrate), low results (specimen dilution) or can have unpredictable effects (eg. drug interference) Not haemolysed. Haemolysis results in the release of cellular components (notably potassium) into the plasma/serum and can also cause interference with some test methods. In vitro haemolysis can be caused by using excessive force when withdrawing blood in a syringe or by use of a small bore needle NB: for ward based analysers - haemolysis cannot be seen in whole blood