Storage of whole blood: effect of temperature on the measured concentration of analytes in serum.

We measured the concentrations of 29 commonly measured analytes in fresh sera and in sera that had been stored as whole blood at seven different temperatures for 24 h. We determined the effect of storage temperature and prolonged contact with cell clot on the measured concentration of each analyte, with fresh serum as the control. Significant differences were observed for concentrations of creatinine, glucose, inorganic phosphorus, potassium, and both aminotransferases. The extent of these differences was temperature dependent. Values for the remaining 23 analytes examined were essentially unaffected by the storage.