Barricor blood collection tubes are equivalent to PST for a variety of chemistry and immunoassay analytes except for lactate dehydrogenase.

Introduction: The BD Barricor tube uses a novel mechanical separator designed to eliminate gel artifacts, decrease cellular contamination, and improve stability. Here, we evaluated the Barricor tube as a possible replacement for PST using Beckman Coulter analyzers under both optimal, alternative, and suboptimal centrifugation conditions based on BD recommendations.

Methods: Paired PST and Barricor samples were collected from 4 local hospitals and processed based on site-specific preanalytical systems involving automated or manual centrifugation. Centrifugation conditions ranged from 1912 ×g for 10 min (suboptimal), 2060 g for 10 min (alternative), and 4000 ×g for 3 or 10 min (optimal). Tube volume (4.5 vs. 5.5 ml) was also assessed. Forty-three chemistry and immunochemistry analytes were measured on Beckman Coulter DxC and DxI analyzers.

Results: Using an automated preanlaytical system with suboptimal spin conditions, no bias between PST and Barricor was observed for all analytes tested except lactate dehydrogenase (LD). Further investigation revealed significant increase in LD when Barricor was spun for 10 min at 1912, 2060 and 4000 ×g, ranging from +7.4-19.4% vs. PST across the entire measurement interval (87-493 U/l). Smaller tube volume was also associated with higher LD. Differences in LD occurred despite no change in other hemolysis markers such as potassium, phosphate, and AST.

Conclusions: LD is most sensitive to varying centrifugation conditions (time and speed) in Barricor tubes. We recommend that BD centrifugation protocols should be closely evaluated to determine if Barricor is equivalent to PST under local preanalytical configurations.