Effect of the addition of the antioxidant taurine on the complete blood count of whole blood stored at room temperature and at 4°C for up to 3 days

Abstract

Background: The complete blood count is one of the most common routine tests. This study aimed to evaluate possible effects of the antioxidant taurine on the complete blood count of whole blood stored at room temperature and at 4°C over three days.Methods: Venous blood samples of 15 healthy males were distributed into two sets of tubes with each set of three tubes containing 50 μL of solutions with zero, 5 g/L, 10 g/L taurine. The tubes were kept at room temperature or at 4°C. Complete blood counts were performed on three successive days. The mean percentage changes [Δ = (mean value – mean baseline value) / mean baseline value x 100] were calculated and compared.Results: Complete blood count parameters exhibited different patterns of behaviour which were affected by the storage temperature, time and taurine concentration. Taurine at room temperature significantly enhanced the stability of: the platelet count over three days (Δ3 at 5 and 10 g/L taurine were 6.18, and 2.53 x 109 cells/L, respectively); the red blood cell count over three days (Δ3 at 5 and 10 g/L taurine were 2.59, and 1.39 x 1012 cells/L, respectively); mean corpuscular haemoglobin over three days (Δ3 at 5 and 10 g/L taurine were,-0.62 and -0.52 fl respectively); and red cell distribution width over two days (Δ2 at 5 and 10 g/L taurine were 1.30% and -0.1%, respectively). No additional stabilizing effects of taurine were reported for the mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular haemoglobin, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration, haematocrit and haemoglobin, while it negatively affected the white blood cell stability.Conclusion: Complete blood count parameters exhibited variable stability patterns in respect to temperature, time and taurine concentration.