title: Measurement of hematological, clinical chemistry, and infection parameters from hirudinized blood collected in universal blood sampling tubes.
abstract: Hirudin, the anticoagulatory polypeptide of the leech Hirudo medicinalis, strongly inhibits thrombus formation by specifically interacting with thrombin. For diagnostic purposes, hirudin should be superior to other anticlotting compounds because it only minimally alters the mineral, protein, and cellular blood constituents. To test this hypothesis, hirudinized and routinely processed venous blood from 80 healthy volunteers and patients was subjected to a variety of automated blood tests. A strong correlation was found between the results of automated complete blood counts obtained from K(2)-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) anticoagulated and hirudinized blood (1000 antithrombin units [ATU] hirudin/ml). In addition, clinical chemistry and serological infection parameters (asparlat amintransferase [ASAT], lactate dehydrogenase [LDH], sodium, and so on, and antibodies against hepatitis B and C and human immunodeficiency virus [HIV]1/2, respectively) correlated well when measured in serum as compared with hirudinized plasma. Contrary to single clotting factors, global coagulation parameters (activated partial thromboplastin time [aPTT], prothrombin time [PT]) could not be measured in hirudinized blood. Recombinant hirudin neither interfered with immunophenotyping of mononuclear cells using FACScan analysis, nor did it alter the detection of Wilms' tumor gene expression by RT-PCR technology even at high doses (5000 ATU hirudin). Thus, a hirudin-containing blood sampling tube can be designed as a universal blood sampling tube (UBT) for testing the majority of diagnostic blood parameters.
authors.affiliation: Dept. III Hematology, Oncology and Transfusion Medicine, Benjamin Franklin Hospital, Freien Universität, Hindenburgdamm 30, 12203 Berlin, Germany. hmenssen@zedat.fu-berlin.de
authors.forename: H D
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Menssen
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Brandt
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Leben
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Thiel
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Melber
mesh_terms: D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D001769:Blood / Q000187:drug effects; D001772:Blood Cell Count / Q000592:standards; D001774:Blood Chemical Analysis / Q000592:standards; D001780:Blood Coagulation Tests / Q000592:standards; D001800:Blood Specimen Collection / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D016638:Critical Illness; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000032:analysis; D004492:Edetic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology; D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000592:standards; D016162:Genes, Wilms Tumor / Q000502:physiology; D006629:Hirudins / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D016130:Immunophenotyping / Q000592:standards; D012698:Serologic Tests / Q000592:standards
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm; D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents; D006629:Hirudins; D004492:Edetic Acid