Table 4.

Effect of pediatric sized tubes in a 12-bed surgical ICU.

	Normal Sized (mL)	Reduced Size (mL)	Δ (mL)
EDTA	13,317	7891	5425
Citrate tubes	24,871	10,411	14,460
Serum chemistry	39,390	24,684	14,706

Results of a laboratory-chemical extrapolation of the savings achieved by reducing the filling volume of blood tubes per year with about 3700 treatment days on a 12-bed surgical ICU at University Hospital Würzburg. The filling volumes are assumed for EDTA (2.7 mL vs. 1.6 mL), citrate tubes (4.3 mL vs. 1.8 mL), and serum chemistry (7.5 mL vs. 4.7 mL). The last column shows the respective calculated amount of blood saved per year. Δ = delta (normal sized – reduced size).