Ann Lab Med.  2021 May;41(3):277-284. 10.3343/alm.2021.41.3.277.

Evaluation of the Barricor Tube in 28 Routine Chemical Tests and Its Impact on Turnaround Time in an Outpatient Clinic

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Laboratory Medicine, Pusan National University Hospital, Busan, Korea
  • 2Biomedical Research Institute, Pusan National University Hospital, Busan, Korea
  • 3Department of Laboratory Medicine, Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, Yangsan, Korea
  • 4Department of Laboratory Medicine, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Yangsan, Korea

Abstract

Background
We recently introduced the Barricor (BD, Franklin Lakes, NJ, USA) plasma separation tube, which uses a mechanical separator instead of a gel. We evaluated the effects of using the Barricor tube in a stat (statin) laboratory on the results and turnaround time (TAT) of routine chemical tests. We verified the impact of Barricor tube on reducing TAT and providing results similar to those obtained using serum separator tubes (SSTs).
Methods
We collected venous blood samples from 166 outpatients in Barricor tubes and SSTs and measured 28 routine analytes using an AU5800 instrument (Beckman Coulter, Brea, CA, USA). TAT indexes were compared before and after using Barricor tube.
Results
Mean percent differences were < 5%, except for alanine aminotransferase , total CO2, high-density lipoprotein, phosphate, total protein, and direct bilirubin. The median TAT decreased from 45 to 38 minutes, and the rate of a TAT > 60 minutes decreased from 7.84% to 2.66%, which was approximately one-third of that for SST. The reduction in TAT was attributable to a decrease in centrifugation time. Incomplete clotting and repeated centrifugation, which occurred frequently when using SST, also decreased after using the Barricor tubes.
Conclusions
The Barricor tube is an alternative to SST for routine chemical tests in institutions aiming to reduce TAT, with clinically allowable differences in test results.

Keyword

Barricor tube; Turnaround time; Routine chemical tests; Serum separation tube

Figure

  • Fig. 1 Some analytes showed bias between the SST and the Barricor tube. Bland–Altman percent bias plots for K, Tpro, P, and HDL for the two tubes in 166 patients. Blue solid line, mean percent bias; blue broken lines, 95% LoA; gray broken lines, allowable percent bias. Detailed values of mean bias, 95% LoA, and allowable percent bias are described in Table 1. Abbreviations: HDL, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; K, potassium; LoA, limit of agreement; P, phosphorus; SST, serum separator tube; Tpro, total protein.


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