Background: Some countries have limited the maximum allowable storage duration for red cells to 5 weeks before transfusion. In the US, red blood cells can be stored for up to 6 weeks, but randomized trials have not assessed the effects of this final week of storage on clinical outcomes.
Methods: Sixty healthy adult volunteers were randomized to a single standard, autologous, leukoreduced, packed red cell transfusion after 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 weeks of storage (n = 10 per group).
Objective: To validate an ion exchange high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for measuring glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) in gingival crevicular blood (GCB) spotted on filter paper, for use in screening dental patients for diabetes.
Methods: We collected the GCB specimens for this study from the oral cavities of patients during dental visits, using rigorous strategies to obtain GCB that was as free of debris as possible. The analytical performance of the HPLC method was determined by measuring the precision, linearity, carryover, stability of HbA1c in GCB, and correlation of HbA1c results in GCB specimens with finger-stick blood (FSB) specimens spotted on filter paper.