Do Serum Creatinine Levels Show Clinically Significant Fluctuations on Serial Determinations on the Siemens Advia...

Area of Science:

• Clinical Chemistry
• Laboratory Medicine
• Analytical Biochemistry

Background:

• Assessing the stability of serum creatinine measurements is crucial for accurate patient diagnosis.
• Clinically significant fluctuations in serum creatinine levels after specimen storage require investigation, particularly in borderline ranges (1.1-1.3 mg/dl).

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if clinically significant fluctuations in serum creatinine occur on serial testing after specimen storage.
• To evaluate the impact of storage on creatinine measurements in low, borderline, and high concentration groups.

Main Methods:

• Sixty-one serum samples were categorized into low (≤1.0 mg/dl), borderline (1.1-1.3 mg/dl), and high (≥1.4 mg/dl) groups.
• Specimens were stored at 4°C and analyzed on a Siemens Advia 1800 chemistry analyzer on days 1, 3, and 11.
• Unpaired t-tests were used for statistical comparisons between groups.

Main Results:

• Statistical analysis revealed P-values ranging from 0.0829 to 0.3892.
• No statistically significant difference was found between the standard deviations of the analyzed groups.
• This indicates that storage at 4°C did not lead to significant changes in creatinine measurement variability.

Conclusions:

• Mild to moderate fluctuations in precision are observed in successive serum creatinine determinations.
• These fluctuations are generally not substantial enough to alter clinical decision-making.
• Serum creatinine measurements demonstrate acceptable stability for routine clinical use after short-term storage.