Abstract
The amount of free serum hemoglobin produced secondary to in vitro hemolysis during the performance of a venipuncture was evaluated. Blood specimens were drawn using both syringe and vacuum tube apparatus for collection. All specimens were subjected to the same clotting, centrifugation, and separation procedures, and free serum hemoglobin was determined by the benzidine spectrophotometric method. The mean serum hemoglobin concentration of 1.41 mg dL for the syringe-drawn specimens slightly exceeded the normal mean of 1.3 mg dL, while the mean of 8.77 mg/dL for the vacuum tube-drawn specimens significantly exceeded the normal mean. The mean of the vacuum tube specimens represented a significant difference from the mean concentration of the syringe-drawn specimens, as determined by Student's t test at the P ≤ 0.001 level. Although hemolysis occurs to a significant extent with the vacuum tube system, the hemoglobin content of such specimens will not interfere with most clinical laboratory tests.
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