title: Serum insulin concentration in horses: Effect of storage and handling.
abstract: Serum insulin concentration is commonly measured during investigation of suspected endocrinopathic disease in horses, but immediate analysis is frequently unavailable. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of storing samples at room temperature for 72 h as serum and as whole blood, compared to immediate separation and freezing. Samples from 14 horses were evaluated. Correlation was excellent for all comparisons (≥0.992). Bland-Altman plots revealed a negative bias (mean difference 2.16 µIU/mL) in samples stored as whole blood compared to serum, but this difference was not considered clinically significant. At two commonly used diagnostic cut-offs, there was no effect of storage on result. This study indicates that storage at room temperature for 72 h, either as serum or whole blood, has minimal effect on measured serum insulin concentration in horses.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease and Infection and Global Health, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Liverpool, Neston, Wirral CH64 7TE, UK. Electronic address: hbc@liverpool.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Harry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Carslake
authors.affiliation: Department of Equine and Small Animal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Ninja
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Karikoski
authors.affiliation: Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease and Infection and Global Health, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Liverpool, Neston, Wirral CH64 7TE, UK.
authors.forename: Gina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pinchbeck
authors.affiliation: Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease and Infection and Global Health, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Liverpool, Neston, Wirral CH64 7TE, UK.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: McGowan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001769:Blood; D001800:Blood Specimen Collection / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D006736:Horses / Q000378:metabolism*; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D044967:Serum; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D007328:Insulin
keywords: Horse; Insulin; Serum; Stability; Storage