Effect of Manually Preheparinized Syringes on Packed Cell Volume and Total Solids in Blood Samples Collected from American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis)

The hemodilution effect of manually preheparinized syringes was determined by evaluating the packed cell volume (PCV) and total solids (TS) from blood samples collected from 50 American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis). A volume of 0.2 mL of blood was drawn into 3 syringes of 1 mL: control with no heparin sodium, heparin sodium drawn to 0.1 mL and then expelled, and heparin sodium drawn to 0.2 mL and then expelled. PCV and TS values were determined from each syringe immediately after collection. Mean PCV and TS values were compared between the control and heparin groups using linear mixed modeling. The syringes coated with heparin resulted in a significantly lower mean PCV and TS values when compared with controls, with no significant difference between the heparin groups. This dilution effect was also found to be inconsistent and not accurate from one syringe to another. An adjunct method of obtaining 0.5 mL from already-collected blood samples into 1-mL syringes that were coated with heparin drawn to 0.2 mL and then expelled also showed a significant decrease in PCV and TS values when compared with the control samples, although to a lesser extent. As a result, it cannot be recommended to manually preheparinize syringes when collecting small volume of blood samples from American alligators because significant and unpredictable hemodilution is likely to occur.