Speaker #1:
Amy Pyle-Eilola, PhD, DABCC, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, OH.
Dr. Amy Pyle-Eilola is currently an associate professor of Pathology at The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center and the Director of Clinical Chemistry at Nationwide Children’s Hospital . She’s active in the Association for Diagnostic and Laboratory Medicine. She is passionate about using lab data to generate evidence-based guidelines and educating clinicians about pre-analytical errors.
Overview:
Preanalytical errors are very common causes of error in the clinical lab. This is particularly unfortunately in a pediatric setting, in which a false result may require recollection from a child, or even cause inaccurate treatment. This session will use a case-based presentation to illustrate the lab findings that may indicate that an error occurred during collection.
Objectives:
At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to:
- Define the most common sources of preanalytical error encountered in pediatrics
- Recognize specific patterns of results that are associated with particular errors
Speaker #2:
Michael Reid Alberta Precision Laboratories.
Michael Reid is a Clinical Chemist with Alberta Precision Laboratories in Calgary, Alberta. He received his BSc in Chemistry from Thompson Rivers University in 2012 and his PhD in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Alberta in 2018. He completed his Clinical Chemistry Fellowship at the University of Calgary in 2023 before starting his position at Alberta Precision Laboratories. His areas of interest include endocrinology, assay interferences, and teaching.
Overview:
Collecting blood from a heel puncture into microcontainers is a common practice in neonates. However, open collection methods expose blood to air, resulting in the loss of volatile analytes such as total carbon dioxide (TCO2). This presentation will review a recent study where we quantified the loss of TCO2 from simulated microcontainer collections. The effects of several steps in the testing process will be highlighted, specifically the effects of the collection procedure, sample transport and handling, and air exposure post-centrifugation. The presented data will aid in the determination of the suitability of microcontainers for TCO2 analysis. Additionally, several recommendations to reduce the loss of TCO2 in micro-collections will be discussed.
Objectives:
At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to:
- Describe the steps in the testing process that affect the stability of TCO2 and what factors result in the greatest loss of TCO2.
- Implement strategies to improve the stability of TCO2 in neonatal blood collections that are exposed to air.