Recommendation of equipping blood gas analyzers with a blood clot detector: An incident with abnormally low pH of blood sample due to blood clot

Abstract

A blood gas analyzer that can show the respiratory and circulatory conditions as well as the general conditions of a patient can be useful for medical workers in the field. The blood gas analyzer that we used was operating normally; however, the pH of an arterial blood sample was low, and we investigated the reasons and countermeasures for this. The arterial blood sample showed a low pH of 7.282; however, the pH was 7.410 when using another type of device. The reason was that a blood clot adhered to the pH electrode, and it did not react normally with the electrode. Therefore, a blood clot detector was attached to the pH electrode so that measurements can indicate an abnormality and no measurements can be made when there is a clot. By calculating the ratio of blood clot detection using the same apparatus, we found that outpatient devices showed a significantly high ratio (p = 0.01). It is mainly used for pediatric patients, in whom blood collection and treatment are more difficult to perform. Therefore, it was considered that the rate of blood clots was higher. By attaching a blood clot detector, we can detect abnormalities in the blood gas analyzer and respond quickly. Through blood gas analysis, we can report our event as an example to introduce a technique to prevent clotting during blood sampling and a useful function for detecting clots in the apparatus.