Introduction: Sodium fluoride/potassium oxalate tubes NAF tubes) were once regarded as the gold-standard for glucose analysis. Even though their ineffectiveness in immediately inhibiting glycolysis has been reported in several studies especially in the first 1 to 4hours, they are still used in our clinical biochemistry laboratory for glucose measurement. However in its absence, serum separator tubes (SSTs) are routinely employed for glucose measurement. Aim: To determine whether SSTs can replace NaF tubes for laboratory-based measurement of blood glucose and to assess the stability of glucose concentrations for 3 days period. Methods: During the study period, a total of fifty paired samples collected in both NaF tubes and SSTs from healthy adult participants in the Gambia Adults Reference Intervals Study (GARIS) project were used as the project sample size. The samples were analyzed within 2hours, and at 24hours, 42hours and 72hours time-points following blood collection and separation using dry chemistry analyser. The GARIS samples were treated as clinical samples. Results: There was no significant difference in the mean glucose concentrations between the two tubes (Mean difference= 0.06mmol/L; P=0.38) recorded in the different time-points. Using growth trajectory and mixed effects model, the study data showed no significant change in the glucose concentrations (p=0.25) for three days period. Conclusions: The study confirms that SSTs can produce similar glucose results when employed in the absence of NaF tubes. Besides, the glucose concentrations were stable in both tubes for three days when the samples were separated within two hours and refrigerated in 2-8 Celsius.

中文翻译：

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在氟化钠和血清分离管中测得的葡萄糖浓度的比较和稳定性研究

简介：氟化钠/草酸钾管（NAF管）曾经被认为是葡萄糖分析的金标准。尽管在几项研究中，尤其是在最初的1至4小时内，已报告了它们不能立即抑制糖酵解的功效，但它们仍在我们的临床生物化学实验室中用于葡萄糖测量。但是，在没有葡萄糖分离器的情况下，通常会使用血清分离管（SST）进行葡萄糖测量。目的：确定SST是否可以代替NaF管进行实验室的血糖测量，并评估3天期间葡萄糖浓度的稳定性。方法：在研究期间，在冈比亚成人参考间隔研究（GARIS）项目中，从健康成年人中从NaF管和SST中收集的总共50对配对样本用作项目样本量。使用干化学分析仪在采血和分离后的2小时内，24小时，42小时和72小时的时间点分析样品。将GARIS样品视为临床样品。结果：在不同时间点记录的两个试管之间的平均葡萄糖浓度无显着差异（平均值差异= 0.06mmol / L； P = 0.38）。使用生长轨迹和混合效应模型，研究数据显示三天内葡萄糖浓度无明显变化（p = 0.25）。结论：研究证实，在没有NaF试管的情况下使用SST可以产生相似的葡萄糖结果。此外，当样品在两个小时内分离并在2-8摄氏度冷藏时，两个试管中的葡萄糖浓度都稳定了三天。