J Clin Pathol Qual Control.  1999 Jun;21(1):181-186.

The Use of Serum Separation Tube (SST) for Hormone Assay by Chemiluminescence Immunoassay

• Hong SB
• Kim HS
• Lee DH

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Utilization of serum separation tubes (SST) can shorten sample processing time and minimize the chance of exposure to potentially hazardous aerosols compared to the use of plain tubes. However, there have been reports indicating that gel in the SST can cause interference in assays of certain drugs or hormones. In this study, we sought to find out if samples obtained in SST yield results in hormonal assays analytically equivalent to those obtained in plain tubes.
METHODS
paired blood samples were drawn from each of 20 patients into both SST and plain tubes. After centrifugation, serum samples from both tubes were analyzed with ACS:180(R) PLUS (Chiron Diagnostics Co., USA) for triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free thyroxine (free T4), T uptake, human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), prolactin, luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), estradiol and progesterone.
RESULTS
Results for both types of blood-collection tubes revealed no statistically significant difference except in TSH and T uptake. Results of TSH and T uptake assays showed statistically significant differences (P<0.05), but the magnitude of the difference was of uncertain clinical significance.
CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that utilization of SST in assays of T3, T4, TSH, free T4, T uptake, HCG, prolactin, LH, FSH, estradiol, and progesteron is free of significant interference. SST may be used for these hormonal assays without much precaution.

MeSH Terms

Aerosols
Centrifugation
Chorionic Gonadotropin
Estradiol
Follicle Stimulating Hormone
Humans
Immunoassay*
Luminescence*
Luteinizing Hormone
Progesterone
Prolactin
Thyrotropin
Thyroxine
Triiodothyronine
Aerosols
Chorionic Gonadotropin
Estradiol
Follicle Stimulating Hormone
Luteinizing Hormone
Progesterone
Prolactin
Thyrotropin
Thyroxine
Triiodothyronine