iSTAT CG8 capillary issue, what are you doing for potassium?

To date our clinical team has not requested an alternate product but I am very interested in the responses to this post!  If any locations made the conversion from i.STAT to epoc, I'd appreciate the feedback regarding the conversion.  Thanks for posting. 

We suppress differently based on area. We have iSTATs in RT, ED, CCU, NICU, and OR. We asked the medical directors for each area if they'd rather lose capillary samples or K and iCa. Understandably, NICU was the only one who preferred to keep capillary samples and lose the analytes. If they want potassium, they have to draw and send to the lab. Everyone else is running venous or arterial samples only, with big labels on the iSTATs to that effect. When we do get a baby in the ED that needs a blood gas, RT is approved to grab the NICU device. 

We did suppress or turn off any testing. We notified units that the capillary tests are no longer available and we monitor closely. Any testing that does occur gets documented and reviewed by our medical director.

Our NICU has been particularly affected by the iSTAT capillary K+ and iCa labeling change. additional blood draws and extra sample sent to main lab have been difficult for the clinical team, especially in this patient population where minimizing blood loss is so important.

Based on some of the feedback and conversations we've had, we're currently looking at EPOC as a potential option. One concern is the workflow change for nursing staff, since the card needs to be prepared and calibrated before sample collection, whereas with iSTAT the sample can be collected first and then applied to the cartridge.

That said, the room temp storage, all-in-one test card, and potential ability to address the capillary K+ and iCa gap make it an interesting option for us to explore