Background: Accurate measurement of hematologic analytes is essential for physicians to establish correct diagnoses, plan of patient’s treatment, evaluate treatment response and monitor the progression of disease over time. For the most accurate hematological results, blood specimens should be analyzed as soon as possible after collection. This study aimed to determine the effect of storage durations of blood samples stored at room temperature on the measurement of red blood cell (RBC) count, hemoglobin (Hb) concentration, packed cell volume (PCV), red cell indices (MCV, MCH, MCHC) and red cell distribution width-Coefficient of variation (RDW-CV).
Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted between 2019 to 2020. Fifty healthy students (male and female) were randomly selected according to predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Blood samples were collected into EDTA tubes. RBCs parameters were measured immediately after collection to obtain baseline values, then stored at room temperature (24°C) and further measurements were obtained at 6, 12 and 24 hours after collection. Analysis was performed using fully automated hematology analyzer (sysmex XP-300).
Results: Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) computer program (version 20). P-value >0.05 was considered statistically significant. The study proved that RBC's count, Hb and MCH were least affected by storage at 24°C, showed stability after 24 hours (P= 0.943, 0.999, 0.75 respectively). In contrast, MCV showed a significant increase after 6 hours (P= 0.002), and PCV increased significantly after 12 hours (P> 0.001). A highly significant decrease was observed in MCHC after 12 hours (P> 0.001). While RDW-CV, revealed a highly significant increase after 12 hours (P < 0.001).
Conclusion: The study concluded that some RBCs parameters are changed with storage at room temperature. Therefore, it is recommended that RBCs parameters should be measured immediately after blood sample collection.
RBCs count, Hb, PCV, MCV, MCH, MCHC, RDW-CV and Room temperature
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