Evaluation of capillary collection system for HbA1c specimens.
OBJECTIVE
We evaluated the accuracy and stability of a capillary HbA1c collection system for use with a high-performance liquid chromatography analyzer.


METHODS
The collection system requires that 5 ul blood is drawn into a calibrated capillary tube, which is then placed into a vial of stabilizing solution and sent for analysis. The study was conducted on simultaneously drawn capillary and venous blood specimens from 47 pediatric diabetes patients. Accuracy was determined by comparing the capillary to the venous HbA1c values. Stability was measured by analyzing 17 capillary specimens over 3 wk.


RESULTS
There was excellent agreement between the capillary and venous HbA1c values (capillary 0.959, venous +0.494, R2 = 98.7%). The capillary HbA1c values were 0.2% higher than the venous HbA1c values and decreased gradually over time (0.1% HbA1c/week) when stored at room temperature.


CONCLUSIONS
The Bio-Rad (Richmond, CA) collection system is accurate, stable, and simple to use.
Voss
E M
EM
Park Nicollet Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN 55416.
Cembrowski
G S
GS
Clasen
B L
BL
Spencer
M L
ML
Ainslie
M B
MB
Haig
B
B
D001800:Blood Specimen Collection / Q000379:methods*; D002196:Capillaries; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D012016:Reference Values
D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin