How long should a tourniquet typically remain on the arm for a phlebotomy draw?

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The main idea is that tourniquet time should be extremely brief to avoid altering the blood sample. A tourniquet helps you feel and see veins, but leaving it on too long stops venous return and causes blood to pool and the plasma to be squeezed out of the vascular space. This hemoconcentration changes the levels of many analytes and can skew test results, and it also increases patient discomfort and the risk of complications. Therefore, you should keep the tourniquet on for no longer than one minute, removing it as soon as blood flow is established and you’ve secured the sample. Longer durations—two to three minutes, five minutes, or indefinitely—can lead to inaccurate results and unnecessary discomfort.