Special Specimen Collections Flashcards
7 cards from real Certified Phlebotomy Technician Exam practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Special Specimen Collections flashcards as text
Which specimen collection technique is used for a PKU (phenylketonuria) newborn screen?
Answer: Heel stick spotted onto filter paper cards
Newborn screening for PKU uses a heel stick with blood drops spotted onto specialized filter paper (Guthrie cards) and allowed to dry.
When performing a capillary puncture on an infant, which part of the heel is the correct puncture site?
Answer: The medial or lateral plantar surface of the heel
The medial or lateral plantar surface of the heel is the safe zone for infant heel sticks, avoiding the posterior curve where the calcaneus is closest to the skin.
A patient requires a fasting lipid panel. Which of the following foods/drinks is acceptable before the draw?
Answer: Water
Only plain water is permitted during a fasting period; coffee, juice, and food can alter lipid and glucose values.
What additive is found in the gray-top tube used for glucose testing?
Answer: Sodium fluoride and potassium oxalate
Gray-top tubes contain sodium fluoride (glycolytic inhibitor) and potassium oxalate (anticoagulant) to preserve glucose levels in the specimen.
When is a cold agglutinin specimen collection required?
Answer: When testing for autoimmune hemolytic anemia caused by cold-reactive antibodies
Cold agglutinins are antibodies that bind red blood cells at low temperatures; the specimen must be kept warm (37°C) from collection to separation to prevent in vitro agglutination.
Which of the following best describes a midstream clean-catch urine collection?
Answer: The urethral area is cleaned, the first portion discarded, and the middle portion collected
A clean-catch midstream collection involves cleansing the urethral area, discarding the initial stream (which flushes contaminants), and collecting the midstream portion.
For a sweat chloride test used to diagnose cystic fibrosis, how is sweat stimulated?
Answer: Pilocarpine iontophoresis is applied to the skin
Pilocarpine iontophoresis uses a mild electric current to drive the sweat-stimulating drug pilocarpine into the skin, producing a localized sweat sample.