A survey of the results of coagulation studies of blood samples obtained from peripheral Saline lock and Heparin lock catheter and comparing it with direct blood sample

Abstract

Background and Objective: Healthcare staffs want to use an accurate method for taking blood sample. To prevent frequent venipunctures in patients who require a routine blood sampling for controlling PT and PTT, 2 methods of Saline lock catheter flushing and Heparin lock catheter flushing were compared to each other. Methods: This study was performed on 60 patients. They were divided into 2 equal groups. Vein catheter for 1 group was flushed by heparinized Saline and for the other group was flushed by saline. 2 blood samples were obtained, one from vein by needle and the other from catheter after 2 ml blood aspiration. PT and PTT tests were performed by coagulometer. Data were analyzed and compared by T-test and paired T-test. Findings: It was not seen a significant difference for PT in 2 methods of Saline lock and Heparin lock with direct method. There was a significant difference for PTT between Heparin lock and direct method (P=0.000) and also between Heparin lock and Saline lock (P=0.006). Conclusion: According to the results, vein Saline lock catheter in comparison to heparinized catheter is a reliable and proper method for coagulation studies. With regard to advantages of normal saline in comparison to heparin, it is suggested that saline to be used for flushing peripheral cannulas.

Keywords

• blood sampling
• coagulation tests
• heparin lock
• saline lock