Summary
The prothrombin time is usually measured in citrated plasma. The W.H.O. recommended
concentration of sodium citrate for blood collection for laboratory control of oral
anticoagulant therapy is 0.109 M. Some evacuated blood collection systems include
0.105 M sodium citrate. The purpose of the present study was to establish the difference
in ISI calibration between 0.109 and 0.105 M citrate, using 7 types of thromboplastin
and various types of instrumentation. The two citrate concentrations were provided
in both evacuated siliconised glass tubes and in evacuated polyethylene terephtalate
(PET) tubes. The ISI difference between the two citrate concentrations was 5.4% for
one system but not greater than 3% for all other systems when blood samples were collected
with either siliconized glass or PET tubes. Most of the ISI differences between the
two citrate concentrations were not significant at the 5% level. It is concluded that
the ISI differences between 0.105 M and 0.109 M citrate are not of practical importance.
In contrast, ISI differences between siliconised glass and PET tubes, using either
0.105 or 0.109 M citrate, were significant (p <0.05) for most thromboplastin systems
and amounted to 7%. ISI interchange between these glass and PET tubes could induce
INR differences amounting to 14%, which could affect clinical dosage of oral anticoagulants.
Key words
Prothrombin time - ISI - oral anticoagulant control - blood collection - citrate
