A contemporary description of patients' estimated blood losses from diagnostic phlebotomy in a census of hospital episodes from a Canadian tertiary care center.

Background: Phlebotomy for diagnostic testing is among the commonest hospital procedures, but hospital-wide surveys of all inpatients characterizing blood draw volumes have not been published. The objectives were to characterize the daily blood volumes drawn for diagnostic testing from patients discharged from a Canadian tertiary care center, describe the daily distributions of phlebotomy volumes across service locations, and describe changes in hemoglobin (Hb) and transfusion across service locations.

Study Design And Methods: Data were obtained on all patients discharged between 2012 and 2014 using linked discharge abstract and laboratory data.