The Effect of Blood Sample Storage Conditions on Hba1c Concentration Publisher Pubmed



Niazpour F¹ ; Bandarian F² ; Nasliesfahani E³ ; Ebrahimi R¹ ; Abdollahi M² ; Razi F³ Show Affiliations
Source: Clinical Laboratory Published:2019

Abstract

Background: HbA1c concentration is an indicator of the development of long-term complications in diabetic patients. Different sample storage conditions could affect HbA1c values and consequently, clinician's diagnosis. In this study, we studied the effects of various temperatures of storage over time on HbA1c results. Methods: A total of 40 fresh whole blood samples with various levels of HbA1c were selected for separate HbA1c measurements at three different temperatures (-20°C, 4°C, and 25°C) on subsequent days (0, 7, 14, and 21 days after sample collection) with Cobas Integra 400 assays (Roche Diagnostics, Mannheim Germany). Results: The value of HbA1c at initial measurement (7.05 ± 1.45) was insignificantly higher than results of temperature of -20°C and 4° but compared to results at the temperature of 25°C, (6.08% ± 0.86 % after day 7, 5.52% ± 0.80 after day 14, 4.81 % ± 0.66 after day 21) values of initial measurements were significantly higher. Conclusions: We concluded that the refrigerator or freezer storage temperature is applicable for the measurement of HbA1c by Cobas Integra 400 without adverse effects on the stability of samples on subsequent days. © 2019 Verlag Klinisches Labor GmbH. All rights reserved.