PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Koch, Christopher D
AU  - Vera, Michael A
AU  - El-Khoury, Joe M
TI  - Rapid serum clot tubes reduce haemolysis due to pneumatic tube transport
AID  - 10.1136/jclinpath-2021-208126
DP  - 2022 Sep 01
TA  - Journal of Clinical Pathology
PG  - 643--645
VI  - 75
IP  - 9
4099  - http://jcp.bmj.com/content/75/9/643.short
4100  - http://jcp.bmj.com/content/75/9/643.full
SO  - J Clin Pathol2022 Sep 01; 75
AB  - Aims Pneumatic tube systems (PTSs) are critical for modern hospital operations, allowing for rapid sample transport. Despite widespread use, PTSs can compromise specimen integrity and affect laboratory values. Our objective was to prove that rapid serum clot tubes (RST) provide protective benefits over plasma during PTS transport and can be a practical solution for certain PTS routes.Methods In this study, we compared the effects of PTS transport on cell lysis indicators: h-index, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and potassium (K+), in RST versus lithium heparin gel separator tubes using 10 volunteers.Results In comparison with plasma, RST showed a median reduction in PTS-induced haemolysis of 80.4% (p=0.0049), with a reduction in post-PTS median LDH concentration (49.7%, p=0.04) and K+ concentration (50.0%, p=0.0273).Conclusion This study demonstrates RST tubes can significantly reduce PTS-induced haemolysis and can be recommended for poor PTS routes.