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Rapid serum clot tubes reduce haemolysis due to pneumatic tube transport
  1. Christopher D Koch,
  2. Michael A Vera,
  3. Joe M El-Khoury
  1. Department of Laboratory Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
  1. Correspondence to Dr Joe M El-Khoury, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, USA; joe.el-khoury{at}yale.edu

Abstract

Aims Pneumatic tube systems (PTSs) are critical for modern hospital operations, allowing for rapid sample transport. Despite widespread use, PTSs can compromise specimen integrity and affect laboratory values. Our objective was to prove that rapid serum clot tubes (RST) provide protective benefits over plasma during PTS transport and can be a practical solution for certain PTS routes.

Methods In this study, we compared the effects of PTS transport on cell lysis indicators: h-index, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and potassium (K+), in RST versus lithium heparin gel separator tubes using 10 volunteers.

Results In comparison with plasma, RST showed a median reduction in PTS-induced haemolysis of 80.4% (p=0.0049), with a reduction in post-PTS median LDH concentration (49.7%, p=0.04) and K+ concentration (50.0%, p=0.0273).

Conclusion This study demonstrates RST tubes can significantly reduce PTS-induced haemolysis and can be recommended for poor PTS routes.

  • Chemistry, Clinical
  • ELECTROLYTES
  • BIOCHEMISTRY

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Footnotes

  • Handling editor Tahir S Pillay.

  • Twitter @ClinChemJoe

  • Contributors All named authors contributed to the experimental design, execution and manuscript preparation of this work.

  • Funding The authors used internal hospital operations budget to conduct the study.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.