Hemólisis en las muestras para diagnóstico

In most cases, hemolysis is an avoidable preanalytical effect. It can appear as a result of the procedure used during blood specimen collection and also due to transport conditions and sample preparation. Hemolysis can lead to errors in many common determinations in clinical chemistry, mostly due to the leakage of cellular contents into the plasma, and in some cases, by the interfering effect of red blood cells components, such as hemoglobin. Laboratories need to be able to detect and measure hemolysis by a standardized procedure. The majority of current biochemistry analyzers can measure hemolysis by a spectrophotometric method. Nevertheless, the influence of hemolysis depends on the measurement method employed. Laboratories should demand that manufacturers give detailed information and make exhaustive studies regarding the influence of hemolysis on each analyte. This would allow each laboratory to establish the degree of hemolysis that produces a significant error in an analysis and in accordance with the laboratory's quality specifications.