Which laboratory tests are performed on blood collected in orange tubes?

Which laboratory tests are performed on blood collected in orange tubes?

• A. Urinalysis
• B. Stat serum determinations in chemistry
• C. Complete blood count
• D. Blood typing

Answer: (B)

Orange-top tubes are designed to yield serum quickly for chemistry tests. They contain a thrombin-based clot activator that accelerates clotting, so the serum becomes available much faster than with a plain red-top tube. Many chemistry determinations require serum rather than whole blood or plasma, so these tubes are used specifically for rapid, stat serum chemistry workups. Urinalysis uses urine, not blood, so it isn’t tied to orange-top blood collection. A complete blood count relies on anticoagulated whole blood (commonly in lavender tubes with EDTA), and standard blood typing typically uses different specimen types and procedures. So, the tests performed on blood collected in orange tubes are stat serum determinations in chemistry.

Orange-top tubes are designed to yield serum quickly for chemistry tests. They contain a thrombin-based clot activator that accelerates clotting, so the serum becomes available much faster than with a plain red-top tube. Many chemistry determinations require serum rather than whole blood or plasma, so these tubes are used specifically for rapid, stat serum chemistry workups. Urinalysis uses urine, not blood, so it isn’t tied to orange-top blood collection. A complete blood count relies on anticoagulated whole blood (commonly in lavender tubes with EDTA), and standard blood typing typically uses different specimen types and procedures. So, the tests performed on blood collected in orange tubes are stat serum determinations in chemistry.