The Relationship Between Variation In Specimen Delay Time And Hemoglobin Levels In Students Majoring Medical Laboratory Technology Poltekkes Of The Ministry Of Health Of East Kalimantan

Abstract

Laboratory examinations consist of three stages: pre-analytical, analytical, and post-analytical. Often, there is a mismatch between the results of laboratory tests and the patient's clinical condition, which is mostly due to pre-analytical and post-analytical errors. Common errors include improper patient preparation, mislabeling, incorrect use of anticoagulants, and specimen damage.This study aimed to investigate the impact of delayed specimen examination time on hemoglobin levels.This observational analytical study used 41 whole blood samples in a K3EDTA tube.Data normality analysis was performed by the Shapiro-Wilk test, and the difference in hemoglobin levels between the samples examined immediately, after 1 hour, and 2 hours, was tested using the Paired T-test. The results of the Paired T-test showed a significant difference between the hemoglobin levels of the samples examined immediately and those that were delayed by 1 and 2 hours. It was found that hemoglobin levels decreased as the delay time increased. Despite the decrease, the difference is not too large and is still within the range of normal hemoglobin values measured by the Cyamethemoglobin method.Delays in blood specimen examination may lead to a statistically significant decrease in hemoglobin levels, although the difference does not affect clinical interpretation in the context of the normal range.