• Giuseppe Lippi, Patrizia Bonelli, Virna Graiani, Catia Caleffi, and Gianfranco Cervellin.
• Laboratory of Clinical Chemistry and Hematology, Academic Hospital of Parma, Parma, Italy. Electronic address: glippi@ao.pr.it.
• Clin. Biochem. 2014 Feb 1; 47 (3): 227-9.

ObjectivesSpurious hemolysis is the leading source of nonconformities that can be recorded in diagnostic samples, especially those collected in the emergency department (ED). The aim of this study was to assess whether the shift from regular to low volume blood collection tubes may reduce the rate of hemolysis in a large urban ED, where approximately 80% of blood collections are performed through catheters.Design And MethodsIn a former 5-month period, blood collection in the ED was performed using 5.0mL (13×100mm) plastic serum tubes, which were then completely replaced with 3.5mL (13×75mm) plastic serum tubes for another period of 5months. The rate of hemolyzed specimens (i.e., those containing a cell-free hemoglobin ≥0.5gL) collected in the two periods was compared by Fisher exact test.ResultsThe rate of hemolyzed specimens received from the ED increased from 3.5% using 5.0mL plastic serum tubes to 5.2% after introduction of 3.5mL plastic serum tubes (p<0.001).ConclusionsThe use of low volume tubes was not effective to decrease the hemolysis rate in a large urban ED.Copyright © 2013 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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