Influence of Centrifugation Temperature on the Plasma Total Homocysteine Concentration

[摘要] Increased plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) is a recognized risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (1)(2)(3). Recommendations for accurate measurement of tHcy concentrations include collecting fasting blood samples (4)(5) with the patient in a sitting position (6), placing the (EDTA) tubes directly on ice, and immediately centrifuging the samples (4). There are no recommendations on whether to use a refrigerated or a nonrefrigerated centrifuge. We compared the tHcy concentrations in samples centrifuged at 4 °C and at ambient temperature.We studied 40 females (age range, 43–68 years) who participated in a side protocol of the SU.VI.MAX study (7). Two fasting venous blood samples were collected in EDTA Vacutainer Tubes (Becton Dickinson), which were not put on ice, but were centrifuged immediately for 15 min at 2000 g , one at 4 °C and the other at ambient temperature (∼20 …

[学科分类] 过敏症与临床免疫学