The analytic impact of a reduced centrifugation step on chemistry and immunochemistry assays: an evaluation of the Modular Pre-Analytics

Abstract

Preanalytical centrifugation can be successfully down-scaled to a duration of 5 min for most routine chemistry and immunochemistry assays in serum and plasma samples. To prevent inaccurate results in plasma samples with an increased lipaemia index from being reported, the laboratory information system was programmed to withhold results above certain lipaemia indices. The presented data support the use of a 5-min centrifugation step to improve turnaround times, thereby meeting one of the desires of the requesting clinicians.

Evaluation of a reduced centrifugation time and higher centrifugal force on various general chemistry and immunochemistry analytes in plasma and serum

“…1,2 A few previous studies have investigated centrifugation times shorter than 10 min using different serum or plasma collection tubes, g-forces and analytical methods, and in general they have found evidence that centrifugation time can be decreased to 4-7 min without adversely affecting the analytical quality. [6][7][8][9] Apart from the study of Koenders et al, 8 these studies were all performed using collection tubes with gel separator. Although gel separator tubes are widely used and may be advantageous in that they reduce the need to aliquot specimens, there are also disadvantages.…”

“…However, for LDH, we found an increased coefficient of variation (CV ¼ 5.0%) and higher results (mean bias ¼ 6.3%) after centrifugation for 5 min at 3000 Â g. This finding is in contrast to previous studies, where LDH was not adversely affected at centrifugation times of 4-7 min. [6][7][8][9] Three of these studies all used a lower g-force of around 1900 Â g compared with 3000 Â g in this study. [7][8][9] A potential concern with centrifugation at higher g-force is in vitro lysis of blood cells, due to increased mechanical stress.…”

“…[6][7][8][9] Three of these studies all used a lower g-force of around 1900 Â g compared with 3000 Â g in this study. [7][8][9] A potential concern with centrifugation at higher g-force is in vitro lysis of blood cells, due to increased mechanical stress. LDH is present in large amounts in red blood cells and platelets and any lysis would lead to overestimation of it.…”

“…Manufacturers of blood collection tubes typically recommend centrifugation for 10 to 15 min depending on the type of tube, 1,2 and WHO also, in general, proposes a centrifugation time of at least 10 min and 1500 Â g for serum and at least 15 min and 2000-3000 Â g for plasma. 3 Only a few scientific studies have investigated the influence of centrifugation settings of less than 10 min on laboratory results in serum or plasma, [4][5][6][7][8][9] and apart from one, all were performed with tubes containing a gel separator. A possible problem with the use of gel separator tubes is gel flotation in samples with a high concentration of protein, which can lead to mechanical disruption upon aspiration into instrument sampling probes.…”

Pathologic Blood Samples Tolerate Exposure to Vibration and High Turbulence in Simulated Drone Flights, but Plasma Samples Should be Centrifuged After Flight

“…Accordingly, we must address these performance gaps before drones can be realistically considered for large-scale applications. The effects of g-forces on blood samples have been studied with regard to centrifugation and validation of pneumatic tube transport [10][11][12][13][14], but to the best of our knowledge, no studies have addressed vibration and turbulence during drone transport.…”