Carbohydrate-deficient transferrin is not affected by serum separators

Area of Science:

• Clinical Chemistry
• Laboratory Medicine
• Biochemistry

Background:

• Carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) is a biomarker used in clinical diagnostics.
• Accurate CDT determination is crucial for reliable patient assessment.
• The choice of blood collection tube can potentially influence laboratory test results.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of different blood collection tube types on serum carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) measurements.
• To evaluate the compatibility of various tube materials with CDT testing using the CDTect method.

Main Methods:

• Serum samples from 58 individuals were analyzed.
• Four types of blood collection tubes were tested: glass, plastic (no additive), plastic (serum accelerator), and plastic (serum/gel accelerator).
• Serum isolation and CDT determination were performed using the CDTect method.
• Passing and Bablok regression analysis was employed to compare results.

Main Results:

• No statistically significant differences were observed in CDT concentrations across the four tested blood collection tube types.
• The results indicate that serum isolation in glass, neutral plastic, serum plastic, or serum/gel plastic tubes does not affect CDT determination.
• The CDTect method demonstrated robustness across different collection systems.

Conclusions:

• The type of blood collection tube used for serum isolation does not impact the accuracy of carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) determination.
• Clinicians and laboratory professionals can confidently use various common blood collection tubes for CDT testing.
• Standardization of CDT testing is supported across different pre-analytical sample handling procedures.