Hemolysis in blood samples

Abstract

Hemolysis is one of the interfering factors that can limit the results of various biochemical tests, and this study aimed to assess the interference of hemolysis in the reliability of biochemical tests conducted in clinical-surgical procedures in the veterinary hospital routine. The methodology was retrospective, based on the analysis of records of animals treated at the Veterinary Hospital Unit (SUHVU) of the Federal University of Fronteira, Campus Realeza (Paraná) from January of 2020 to December of 2022. The tests conducted in the Veterinary Clinical Analysis laboratory included serum determination of total proteins, albumin, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), creatinine and urea. Based on the biochemical results, animals were divided into three groups according to the degree of hemolysis observed in the serum: mild hemolysis (HD); moderate hemolysis (HM) and intense hemolysis (HI). The control group (GC) was determined based on reference values specific to the species. Data were tabulated in spreadsheets and analyzed using Pearson's correlation test (p). Mild hemolysis was predominant and, in dogs, did not affect the analyzed biochemical values in comparison to the reference averages for the species, regardless of the degree. Isolated, most measurements increased. In cats, changes were more significant concerning the group average, with ALP showing the greatest variation, not consistent with the elevation of hemolysis. None of the parameters had a strong correlation of interference between hemolyses, only moderate negative and positive correlations in ALP and urea.