Effect of centrifugation force and time on the analysis of lactate dehydrogenase and potassium in the serum samples

Abstract

Introduction and Aim: Any imperfection that occurs during any stage of the testing process is described as laboratory error. Increasing requirements of biochemical tests, numerous patient samples and automation has forced laboratory work to be carried out at a faster speed. Few studies are shown to investigate the influence of settings of centrifugation of less than 10 minutes on the laboratory result in serum. Thus, our study was aimed to see the effect of centrifugation force and time on the analysis of lactate dehydrogenase(LDH) and potassium from serum samples. Methodology: Samples were collected from 61 healthy volunteers. 5ml was taken in two separate BD vacutainer serum tubes. Tube 1 was centrifuged for 2000g for 10 minutes, tube 2 for 5 minutes 3000g, and analysed for LDH and potassium. Results: A significant difference was observed between 5 min (U/L) (3000g) and 10 min (U/L) (2000g) with LDH and 5 min (mmol/l) 3000g and 10 min (mmol/l) 2000g with potassium. Conclusion: LDH and potassium levels were found to be raised by increasing the centrifugal force to 3000g. Hence, the standard centrifugation protocol of 10 min at 2000 or 2500 rpm is to be followed to get the accurate results.