Pretreatment of Body Fluid Specimens Using Hyaluronidase and Ultracentrifugation.

OBJECTIVE

Viscous body fluids present challenges during clinical laboratory testing. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of hyaluronidase (HYAL) and ultracentrifugation (UC) pretreatment for a variety of body fluids before clinical chemistry testing.

METHODS

The following body fluids were evaluated: biliary/hepatic, cerebrospinal, dialysate, drain, pancreatic, pericardial, peritoneal/ascites, pleural, synovial, and vitreous. Analytes assessed included amylase, total bilirubin, cancer antigen 19-9, carcinoembryonic antigen, cholesterol, chloride, creatinine, glucose, lactate dehydrogenase, lipase, potassium, rheumatoid factor, sodium, total protein, triglycerides, urea nitrogen, and uric acid.

RESULTS

Observed percentage differences between HYAL treated and untreated fluids were less than ±15% for all analytes investigated, with a small number showing statistical significance (P <.05). In addition, UC showed increased variability for limited body fluid/analyte combinations.

CONCLUSION

The HYAL treatment effectively reduced viscosity for body fluids. Validation of specimen pretreatment processes ensures acceptable analytical performance and the absence of unanticipated interferences.