If a blood sample is drawn distal (downstream) from a saline infusion site, it may become contaminated with saline, leading to abnormal laboratory results. Saline contains a high concentration of sodium chloride, which artificially elevates sodium while diluting other blood components.
Therefore, such samples would display:
Very high sodium levels, and
Abnormally low levels of other analytes (e.g., proteins, glucose, potassium).
This abnormal pattern (option B) is a classic indicator of saline contamination.
Per the GCDMP (Chapter: Data Validation and Cleaning), cross-variable consistency checks are critical for identifying biologically implausible patterns, such as this one, which indicate pre-analytical errors rather than true physiological changes.
Hence, option B accurately describes the data signature of a contaminated blood draw.
Reference (CCDM-Verified Sources):
SCDM GCDMP, Chapter: Data Validation and Cleaning, Section 6.2 - Logical and Consistency Checks for Laboratory Data ICH E6(R2) GCP, Section 5.1.1 - Data Quality and Biological Plausibility Checks FDA Guidance for Industry: Computerized Systems Used in Clinical Investigations, Section 6.3 - Detecting Laboratory Anomalies