Question

A phleb working in an outpatient facility finds an unconscious patient in the waiting room bleeding profusely from the leg. Which of the following actions should the phleb take first?

a) take the patients pulse
b) seek support from other staff
c) raise the injured extremity
d) apply direct pressure to the wound

Answer 1

The first action the phlebotomist should take is to apply direct pressure to the bleeding wound. In an emergency requiring transfusion with no time to type blood, type O negative blood is used. If blood agglutinates with both anti-A and anti-B antibodies, the patient has AB positive blood.

Step-by-step explanation:

If a phlebotomist finds an unconscious patient in the waiting room bleeding profusely from the leg, the first action they should take is to apply direct pressure to the wound. This is because the most immediate threat to an unconscious patient with a bleeding wound is blood loss, which can lead to decreased blood pressure and reduced perfusion to vital organs. After applying direct pressure, they can then seek support from other staff, take the patient's pulse, and raise the injured extremity while waiting for emergency services.

In the scenario of a motor vehicle accident where a patient is rushed to the emergency department with severe bleeding and no time for blood typing, the transfusion of universal donor blood type O negative is performed due to its compatibility with all other blood groups.

A phlebotomy technician performing a blood draw will test for the patient's blood type using anti-A and anti-B antibodies. If both samples agglutinate, this indicates that the patient has blood type AB positive, which is a normal response and does not suggest an error in the procedure.