Polyethylene glycol-6000 as a clearing agent for lipemic serum samples from dogs and the effects on 13 serum assays.

Polyethylene glycol-6000 (PEG) was evaluated as a clearing agent for lipemic serum from dogs. Effects of PEG-treatment in lipemic and non-lipemic samples were determined for 13 chemical and enzymatic assays (glucose, BUN, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, amylase, total protein, albumin, sodium, potassium, chloride, phosphorus, and calcium). Control samples for lipemic sera were prepared by ultracentrifugation. Treatment with PEG cleared all lipemic samples. Regression lines for all lipemic samples were highly significant (P less than 0.0001) and the SD of the control values around the regression lines were small compared with the mean value for an assay. The technique was simple, quick, and inexpensive. With proper validation, reliable predictions of true serum values could be calculated for lipemic serum samples for all assays studied.