A comparison of stability of chemical analytes in plasma from the BD Vacutainer^® Barricor™ tube with mechanical separator versus tubes containing gel separator

Abstract

Background There is a need of prolonged stability of certain chemical analytes in lithium heparin tubes with separators. A new tube with a mechanical separator has recently been launched (Barricor™), which according to the manufacturer may have these benefits. The aim of this study was to evaluate stability performance of this tube in comparison with plasma gel tubes under clinically realistic circumstances. Methods Blood was collected in tubes containing lithium heparin with different separators; gel separator (Vacutainer® PST™, Becton Dickinson and Vacuette®, Greiner bio‐one) and mechanical separator (Vacutainer® Barricor™, Becton Dickinson). All tubes had an aspiration volume of 3 mL and were centrifuged at similar time and force. Tubes were transported manually or by car. Seven analytes from 122 patients were analyzed after 3 to 80 hours by Cobas c701 (Roche). Results The Barricor™ tube showed increased stability of phosphate and potassium and similar stability of aspartate aminotransferase, glucose, homocysteine, lactate dehydrogenase, and magnesium compared with gel tubes. Maximal allowable bias for phosphate was exceeded after 68 hours for Barricor™ tubes compared with 29 or 35 hours for gel tubes and for potassium after 40 hours for Barricor™ tubes vs 9 or 12 hours for gel tubes. Transportation did not affect stability. Hemolysis index was slightly lower in Barricor tubes than in gel tubes (P = .01). Conclusion Implementing the new Barricor™ tube will improve stability of potassium and phosphate in plasma. Blood sampling facilities far from the laboratory may benefit from using these tubes, thus diminishing preanalytical errors.

The impact of pre‐analytical variations on biochemical analytes stability: A systematic review

“…Some analytes were significantly affected by tube type such as K + , Pi, and Mg 2+ 10,19 . Gawria et al have been reported that potassium and phosphate were clearly more stable in the mechanical separator tubes (Barricor™) than in the gel tubes 10 . Cuhadar et al also found that some restrictions must be applied for GLU, AST, BUN, HDL, and UA analyses in serum gel or non‐gel 7 .…”

“…Glucose concentrations decreased with increasing serum clot contact time in the plain tube, because of glycolytic action of erythrocytes and leukocytes 7 . However, gel tubes especially tubes containing sodium fluoride showed enhanced stability compared to plain tubes and the stability could be maximized up to 24 hours by refrigeration 10,14,19 …”

“…The process of study selection was as follows: (1) exact duplicate articles were removed by EndNote tools; (2) articles other than English were removed; and (3) irrelevant studies according to the exclusion criteria (Figure 1) made by the authors were excluded. After applying the selection criteria, 20 articles 5‐24 were included in the study.…”

“…After applying the selection criteria, 20 articles [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] were included in the study.…”

“…7 However, gel tubes especially tubes containing sodium fluoride showed enhanced stability compared to plain tubes and the stability could be maximized up to 24 hours by refrigeration. 10,14,19…”