Discussion

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Discussion

Tubes are drawn in a specific order to avoid the possibility of erroneous test results caused by carryover of an additive from one tube to the next.

If a blood culture is ordered, it should be drawn as the first tube. Additional tubes should follow this order of draw.

  • Sodium citrate - coagulation tube (light-blue top)
  • Serum tube - with or without clot activator or gel. This tube is either a red top tube or a gold top tube depending on manufacturer and tube additive.
  • Sodium or lithium heparin with or without gel plasma separator (green top)
  • Potassium EDTA (lavender or pink top)
  • Sodium fluoride, and sodium or potassium oxalate (gray top)