• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.156-160
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• 2007

We evaluated the newly developed plastic sodium citrate tubes for routine coagulation test by direct comparison with glass citrate theophylline adenosine dipyridamole (CTAD) tubes. Blood was drawn from 100 patients into glass CTAD tubes and plastic sodium citrate tubes. After collection, samples were centrifuged at 1500 ${\times}$g for 15 min at $22^{\circ}C$. Prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), fibrinogen were measured by using the Coagrex-800 (IRC, Japan). We used comparison plot by linear regression model and difference plot graphs to compare the results of the independent measurements of PT, aPTT, fibrinogen between glass CTAD tubes and plastic sodium citrate tubes. On the comparison study between glass CTAD tubes and plastic sodium citrate tubes, the correlation coefficients (R) were 0.99 for PT, 0.97 for aPTT and 0.97 for fibrinogen. This results implicated good correlation of each parameter between two tubes. Although the difference plot graph analysis showed statistically significant differences between glass and plastic tubes for PT, aPTT and fibrinogen, the range of difference was acceptable according to the CLSI/NCCLS guideline. The plastic sodium citrate tubes showed good correlation with the glass CTAD tubes, so it can substitute glass citrate tube for routine coagulation tests.