Artifactual changes in the haematocrit buffy coat of stored anti-coagulated blood samples of farm animals

Abstract

The buffy coat percentage (BCP) of centrifuged anti-coagulated blood is routinely clinically used to estimate the total leukocyte count (TLC). There had been observations in our clinical laboratory of BCPs that do not correlate with TLC, especially in blood samples in which centrifugation were delayed. This study therefore investigated the artifactual changes that occur in the BCP of stored anti-coagulated blood samples of farm animals. The BCPs of blood samples from a total of 16 cattle, 18 goats, 15 pigs, and 16 chickens were determined immediately upon blood collection to obtain the baseline value (BV). The blood samples were then divided into three parts and stored at 5°C (3–7°C), 30°C (27.5–32.5°C), and 37°C (35.5–38.5°C). Further BCP determinations on the samples were carried out at 24-h intervals for 72 h (3 days). Results showed that there were statistically significant increases (p 1.5%) occurred only in cattle and chicken blood samples stored at 30°C and 37°C at hour 72 of storage and in pig blood samples stored at 30°C and 37°C as from the 48th hour of storage onwards. It was concluded that statistically significant increases in BCP occur in the blood of cattle, goats, pigs, and chicken during storage, but clinically significant increases that could lead to a false notion of leukocytosis do occur in the BCP of stored anti-coagulated blood of cattle, pigs, and chicken when the blood is stored/kept at 30°C and 37°C.