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Andries J. Bakker, Jennichjen Slomp, Taede de Vries, Dick A.G. Boymans, Bert Veldhuis, Kees Halma, Peter Joosten

Adequate Sampling in Cryoglobulinaemia: Recommended Warmly

Proper sample handling is important for the accurate and prompt diagnosis of cryoglobulinaemia as well as for obtaining correct results of other laboratory tests. In this case report, we present two patients for whom improper sampling delayed the diagnosis of cryoglobulinaemia. The routine sampling procedure was not sufficient for detecting these cryoglobulins and we demonstrated that the temperature dropped below 37 °C at different steps during the sample preparation. Adjusting the pre-analytical procedure revealed that both patients possessed a cryoglobulin with high thermal insolubility. We conclude that in cryoglobulinaemia strict adherence to guidelines to keep the temperature >37 °C is crucial for sample collection and must be strongly recommended.

Clinical Chemical Laboratory Medicine, Walter de Gruyter

Print ISSN: 1434-6621
Volume: 41, 01/2003
Pages: 85 - 89

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