Sheffield, UK · 1,100 beds · View Website
Collaborators:
Steve Kitchen, PhD, FIBMS
Jennifer Cooper
Cooper et al., ISTH Milan (2020)
Jennifer Cooper
Sheffield Teaching Hospital
Northern General Hospital
In 2019, the Accident and Emergency (A/E) department at Sheffield Teaching Hospital’s Northern General Hospital (NGH) was experiencing blood sample rejection rates >50% due to hemolysis with an unknown cause. NGH sought to evaluate how transport in the pneumatic tube system (PTS) contributed to sample rejection, and to test the effectiveness of mitigation strategies.
Because of the relationship between VitalQC’s measurements of vibration to clinical outcomes, it was selected as a key component to the quality improvement project. Dr. Steve Kitchen and Jennifer Cooper used VitalVials to measure vibration experienced by blood vials in the PTS.
VitalQC identified high vibration in PTS transport arriving from A/E that likely contributed to hemolysis. To reduce vibration, NGH implemented a padding SOP for PTS carriers.
VitalQC revealed that padding reduced vibration by 11.3%, leading to a 40% reduction in PTS-induced hemolysis and a 53% reduction in sample rejection.
The Northern General Hospital is a large teaching hospital and Major Trauma Centre in Sheffield, England, and part of the Sheffield Teaching Hospital’s NHS Foundation Trust.
Its Accident and Emergency department can see >150,000 visits per year.
VitalQC showed that padding
reduced vibration by
This discovery reduced
PTS-induced hemolysis by
Padding reduced sample
rejection by
The best way to experience the value of VitalQC is in your own space.
We are happy to facilitate this demonstration and will provide you with a free, no-commitment trial.
