Hyperkalemia Hyperkalemia may only become apparent when a person's platelet concentration is more than 500,000/microL in a clotted blood sample (serum blood sample). Potassium leaks out of platelets after clotting has occurred. On the other hand, processing of heparinised, unclot blood does not cause falsely elevated potassium. In addition to that, high white cell count (greater than 120,000/microL) in patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia increases red blood cells fragility, thus causing pseudohyperkalemia during blood processing. This problem can be avoided by processing serum samples, because formation of clot protect the cells from haemolysis during processing. A familial form of pseudohyperkalemia may
Blood, Sweat & Tea Blood, Sweat & Tea Blood, Sweat & Tea is a book by ambulance technician Brian Kellett, writing under the pseudonym Tom Reynolds, about life in the London Ambulance Service. The book is compiled from posts and correspondence from the blog Random Acts of Reality, one of the earliest high-readership blogs in England. The book covers Reynolds's career from 2003–2006, and discusses his career as an emergency medical technician and a rapid responder. Although often extremely critical of NHS policies and management, the book was extremely well received within the European emergency services, and the book (with its associated blog) is