Influence of storage time of venous blood samples on the results of reticulocyte parameters

Objective To investigate the influence of storage time of venous blood samples on the results of reticulocyte(RET) parameters.Methods The blood samples of patients with and without anemia were detected respectively at different time after bleeding by Sysmex XE-2100 hematology analyzer,and the changes of RET parameters were analyzed.Results In non-anemia patients,only immature reticulocyte(IRF%),high fluorescence reticulocyte(HFR%),middle fluorescence reticulocyte(MFR%) and low fluorescence reticulocyte(LFR%) had significant changes after bleeding 72h,while there was no statistical significance for reticulocyte count(RET#) and reticulocyte percentage(RET %).However,in anemia patients,RET# and RET % reduced significantly after bleeding 72h(P0.05),and IRF%,HFR%,MFR% and LFR% had significant changes after bleeding 24h.Conclusions Long time storage of venous blood samples has influence on the results of RET parameters.In anemia patients,the results can reflect the accuracy if the samples are detected within 24h after bleeding.