THE DIFFERENCES OF HEMATOCRIT LEVEL IN IMMEDIATE AND DELAYED BLOOD SAMPLES ON MICROHEMATOCRIT METHOD

Abstract

Background: Hematology specimen examination should be performed at room temperature in less than 2 hours. Recommended specimen storage temperatures are in the range of 2°- 6°C. However, examining laboratory samples with uncertain storage time and temperature is often delayed. Aims: To determine the difference between the hematocrit values of blood samples examined immediately and those that were delayed for more than 2 hours at room temperature. Methods: This study was conducted from April to June 2023 at the Clinical Chemistry Laboratory of Universitas Bali Internasional. A total of 24 venous blood samples were grouped into three treatment groups that were stored for 3 hours (P1), 6 hours (P2), and 12 hours (P3) at room temperature (18-220C), and one control group was examined immediately. Data were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test (α=0.05). The results: Statistical tests showed that the comparison of control with P1 was not significantly different (p=0.313), while the comparison of control with P2 (p=0.003) and the control with P3 (p=0.000) was significantly different. Conclusions: There was no significant difference in hematocrit values between blood samples examined immediately and blood samples delayed for 3 hours. Significant differences in hematocrit values were shown in comparing blood samples examined immediately with blood samples delayed for 6 hours and examined immediately with blood samples delayed for 12 hours.