Assessment of bovine blood sample stability for complete blood count and blood gases and electrolytes analysis during storage

Delayed arrival of blood samples from the field and a large number of samples delivered often causes delay in sample analysis leading to inaccurate measurements. Therefore, this study aimed to assess whether prolonged storage in refrigerator could influence the stability of cattle blood samples and to establish an optimal time limit for complete blood count (CBC) parameters and blood gas and electrolyte (BGE) parameters analyses. Samples collected from healthy cows were tested immediately for CBC and BGE using automated hematology, blood gas and electrolyte analyzers. Samples were kept in refrigerator at 4℃ and analyzed after 6 h, 12 h, 24 h, 48 h, 72 h, 120 h, and 192 h of storage. Mean differences between observations were assessed at 5% significance level using ANOVA and Duncan's multiple range test. Total CBC parameters and the platelet profile remained stable for 192 h, except for MCHC. Among leukocyte-related counts, NEU and EOS remained stable for 192 hours. WBC and LYM, and MONO values produced inconsistent measurements which recovered its initial measurement after 12 h and 24 h of storage, respectively, then remained stable until 120 h. Among the blood gas indices, PCO₂, PO₂, tCO₂, and BE showed declining and significant changes over time, but pH, tHb, and SO₂ remained stable for 192 h. Electrolyte status in the blood showed that ions are unstable and tend to change in as early as 6 h of storage. This study established that cattle blood specimens for CBC analysis can be stored for 120 h at 4℃, but specimens for BGE analyses must be tested within 6 to 24 h.