A study of XXXX from phlebotomy in renal medical inpatients.

@entity1 @entity8 @entity417 @entity190 @entity177 @entity393
The objective of the study was to assess @entity393 in renal medical in- @entity1 in order to minimise an iatrogenic cause of @entity417 . Phlebotomy has been shown to be a significant cause of iatrogenic @entity190 in critical care. However, there has been limited research in @entity1 with @entity8 , at risk from @entity417 . A prospective observational study was conducted of 70 consecutive @entity1 admitted to an acute renal medicine ward in a tertiary care hospital over a period of four months. Inclusion criteria included adult @entity1 with acute or @entity177 . @entity1 actively bleeding were excluded. @entity190 due to phlebotomy was determined from the @entity1 's computerised records. The mean @entity1 age was 61.5 +/- 16.5 years; the mean length of hospital stay was 23.1 +/- 19.8 days. The mean admission Hb was 9.8 +/- 2.0 g dL(-1) and 9.5 +/- 1.5 g dL(-1) on discharge. The total mean @entity190 from phlebotomy during hospitalisation was 215.8 +/- 166 mL with a mean weekly @entity190 of 55.7 +/- 11.23 mL. Losses were highest in the first week (mean of 76.8 mL), declining in subsequent weeks. Samples were taken for biochemistry (38%), FBC (36%), transfusion (13%) and others (13%). 46% of @entity1 were transfused (mean 4.8 +/- 3.6 units). @entity190 was lower than in previous studies conducted in intensive care and general medicine but clinical staff should be aware of the cumulative @entity190 from phlebotomy. Losses should be managed by optimising the frequency and volume of blood drawn for diagnostic laboratory tests.
