Comparison between use courier transport with pneumatic tube system on the results of routine hematology test, Prothrombin Time (PPT), Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time (APTT), and potassium

Abstract

Pneumatic tube system (PTS) is a transport medium that is widely used in hospitals. The samples transported via PTS would get vibrations due to changing air velocity and pressure. This unstable pressure could cause pre-analytic errors in laboratory measurements. It happened because it damages erythrocytes and lymphocytes and causes haemolysis. It has been demonstrated that these changes can alter the quality of samples and induce haemolysis by leading primarily to increase in lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) concentrations, and potassium concentration. Haemolysis is dined as the release of intracellular components of erythrocytes and other blood cells into the extracellular space of blood. It can also affect the results of in vitro platelet function test. Incorrect test results can affect the diagnosis and the treatment for patients Every hospital that uses PTS are advised to validate and investigate that PTS has the possibility of haemolysis and impacts laboratory results of blood specimens. The purpose of the study was to validate and know comparison between use courier transport with using PTS on the results of routine haematology tests, PPT, APTT, and potassium. This research was experimental research by using posttest without control. The research used statistical test which was paired t-test. The research was conducted at the Integrated Clinical Laboratory Installation of the Gadjah Mada University Academic Hospital in August – October 2020 with 30 preoperative patients. Data were analysed with Prism GraphPad 8 software. There was no significant difference between WBC, RBC, Hb, HCT, MCV, MCH, MCHC, PPT, and APTT. Moreover, there was a significant difference between the results of PLT and potassium in the samples transported via PTS and delivered by courier transport.