Studies on the use of Coulter Chemistry in the veterinary laboratory: day-to day reproducibility and the effects of storage, hemolysis, lipemia, hyperbilirubinemia and anticoagulants on test results.

A study was done to determine the variations in clinical chemistry test results that might be due to day-to-day changes in laboratory testing conditions or to variations in specimens submitted. Laboratory precision and specimen storage conditions had relatively little effect on the test results, except for a few specific instances. Other variables, such as the presence of anticoagulants in the specimen and sample discoloration due to hemolysis, hyperbilirubinemia or lipemia were more often responsible for inconsistencies in test results.