The College of American Pathologists (CAP) published recommendations on June 15 that aim to help mitigate the national shortage of certain test tubes used to collect blood for coagulation testing.
The shortage of 3.2% sodium citrate blue top tubes is expected to continue throughout 2021.
Until the supply can meet demand, the organization recommends that lab workers do the following:
- Evaluate clinical necessity of all coagulation testing orders
- Immediately stop drawing light blue top tubes as part of hold requests
- Avoid using sodium citrate tubes as discarded tubes
The recommendations can be viewed on CAP's website.
