American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) Histotechnician Certification Practice Exam

From a patient safety perspective, what is the most dangerous practice during blood collection?

1. Using a vacutainer with a needle

2. Pre-labeling the vacutainer tubes before collection

3. Collecting blood without gloves

4. Collecting samples in the wrong order

The correct answer is: Pre-labeling the vacutainer tubes before collection

Pre-labeling vacutainer tubes before blood collection can be a dangerous practice from a patient safety perspective because it increases the risk of mislabeling specimens. When tubes are labeled prior to collection, there is a chance that the wrong label could be affixed to the tube or that the label may be incorrectly matched to the patient if the order of collection is not strictly followed. This can lead to significant errors in patient care, such as the wrong tests being conducted or results being communicated for the wrong patient. In contrast, other practices, while they may pose certain risks, do not inherently compromise the identification and tracking of patient samples to the same extent. For instance, collecting blood without gloves poses a risk to the healthcare worker rather than the patient, and while collecting samples in the wrong order can cause interference with test results, it does not affect the immediate identification of patient samples as severely as pre-labeling does. Similarly, using a vacutainer with a needle is a standard procedure and, when followed correctly, does not present notable dangers.