What is the proper order of draw for routine venipuncture using evacuated tubes when a blood culture tube is ordered?

Prepare for the CalRegional Phlebotomy Exam with practice tests, flashcards, and multiple choice questions. Each question is equipped with helpful hints and explanations. Get ready to ace your certification!

Multiple Choice

What is the proper order of draw for routine venipuncture using evacuated tubes when a blood culture tube is ordered?

The test is checking you know the correct sequence to draw tubes when a blood culture is ordered. Blood culture tubes must be drawn first to maximize the chance of recovering organisms and to prevent additive carryover or contamination from other tubes that could inhibit growth or skew results. So, the proper order is: first, the blood culture tubes (aerobic and anaerobic, drawn directly into culture bottles). After those, draw the light-blue tube for coagulation testing, then the red or gold SST tubes for serum testing, followed by green (heparin), then lavender (EDTA), and finally gray (fluoride/oxalate). This sequence keeps the culture sample pristine before any additives are introduced, reducing the risk that later-tube additives could interfere with the culture or alter what’s being detected. Choosing any option that places a non-culture tube ahead of the culture tubes risks contaminating the culture sample or introducing additives that could affect growth, making the culture results unreliable.

The test is checking you know the correct sequence to draw tubes when a blood culture is ordered. Blood culture tubes must be drawn first to maximize the chance of recovering organisms and to prevent additive carryover or contamination from other tubes that could inhibit growth or skew results.

So, the proper order is: first, the blood culture tubes (aerobic and anaerobic, drawn directly into culture bottles). After those, draw the light-blue tube for coagulation testing, then the red or gold SST tubes for serum testing, followed by green (heparin), then lavender (EDTA), and finally gray (fluoride/oxalate). This sequence keeps the culture sample pristine before any additives are introduced, reducing the risk that later-tube additives could interfere with the culture or alter what’s being detected.

Choosing any option that places a non-culture tube ahead of the culture tubes risks contaminating the culture sample or introducing additives that could affect growth, making the culture results unreliable.

More practice questions