RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Centrifugation is a consuming time step which participates to increase the turnaround time (TAT) in laboratories, likewise hemolysis sample that needs a re-sampling could delay management of patients. Recently, it has been postulated that BD Barricor™ tube could allow to decrease the centrifugation time and prevent hemolysis, two key feature to ensure high-quality results.Aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of replacing 4â¯mL BD vacutainer heparin lithium tube by low vacuum 3.5â¯mL BD vacutainer Barricor™ tube in an emergency department (ED) on hemolysis rate and TAT. METHODS: Data of hemolysis index (HI) and TAT were compared between the first period of 15 days using 4â¯mL BD vacutainer heparin lithium tubes with 15â¯minâ¯at 2000xg as centrifugation setting and a second period of 15 days using BD vacutainer Barricor™ tube centrifuged 3â¯minâ¯at 4000xg. RESULTS: A significantly reduced time duration between reception of sample and available results in informatics lab system was observed with the reduction time of centrifugation allowed by use of Barricor™ tube compared to regular heparin lithium tubes (pâ¯<â¯0.001). A significative decrease in hemolysis rate also occurred in the second period as samples with HIâ¯<â¯10 reached from 52.5% in the first period to 68.5% (pâ¯<â¯0.001) in the second. CONCLUSION: Low vacuum BarricorTM tubes allowing a higher speed of centrifugation improve lab TAT without impairment of sample quality as a significant reduction of hemolysis was observed, a double advantage which is of particular interest for ED.