caa a22 4500 378849336 CHVBK 20180305123319.0 cr unu---uuuuu 161128e20030919xx s 000 0 eng 10.1515/CCLM.2003.210 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)gruyter-10.1515/CCLM.2003.210 Can Fluoride-Oxalate and Sodium Citrate Stabilise Homocysteine Levels after Blood Collection? [Elektronische Daten] [Joseph B. Lopez, Chin Lai Peng] The concentration of homocysteine (Hcy) rises rapidly after the collection of blood. This feature requires blood to be collected into the anticoagulants EDTA or heparin and the plasma to then be immediately separated; alternatively, the blood may be kept on ice and centrifuged within 1 hour. The use of chemical preservatives has been proposed as a means of stabilising Hcy levels in whole blood after collection. The objective of this study was to determine whether the commonly available fluoride-oxalate (Fl-Ox) and sodium citrate (Na-Cit) containers could stabilise Hcy levels in blood. Our results showed that when blood was collected into potassium EDTA (K-EDTA) tubes, Hcy levels rose from initial levels, on standing at room temperature (~25 C), by an average of 21% after 3 hours and 32% after 5 hours. The initial Hcy levels of blood collected into Fl-Ox and Na-Cit containers, however, were lower, at averages of 89% and 91%, respectively, compared to that of the same samples when collected into K-EDTA tubes. Hcy in these samples subsequently rose on standing, and after 5 hours was, on the average, 10 and 13% higher, respectively, compared with the initial levels in K-EDTA tubes. We conclude that Fl-Ox and Na-Cit do not stabilise Hcy in blood after collection and should not be used as preservatives. Clin Chem Lab Med 2003; 41(10):13691372 Copyright © 2003 by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG Medical equipment & techniques nationallicence Medical diagnosis nationallicence Diseases & disorders nationallicence Lopez Joseph B. aut Peng Chin Lai aut Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine Walter de Gruyter 41/10(2003-09-19), 1369-1372 1434-6621 41:10<1369 2003 41 cclm https://doi.org/10.1515/CCLM.2003.210 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1515/CCLM.2003.210 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Lopez Joseph B. aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Peng Chin Lai aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine Walter de Gruyter 41/10(2003-09-19), 1369-1372 1434-6621 41:10<1369 2003 41 cclm CC0 http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0 nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-gruyter