Are heparin sodium and heparin lithium tubes interchangeable?

    As commonly used test tubes in medicine, heparin lithium and heparin sodium tubes are welcomed by major medical institutions because they can prevent blood coagulation, and also play an extremely important role in clinical testing. From the appearance, the raw materials of both are white powder. When added to the blood collection tube, they are also prepared into transparent and odorless solution. Therefore, many people will think that heparin sodium and heparin lithium are the same substance, which can be interchanged when added to the test tube. In fact, heparin sodium and heparin lithium are fundamentally different and cannot be interchanged. Let me give you a detailed analysis.

    1、 Difference of binding ions

    In terms of application, although both of them can prevent blood clotting and are both used as a binding form of heparin, there are differences in their effective binding ions. Generally speaking, heparin lithium is converted through the preparation of heparin sodium, so it looks similar in appearance, but different in texture. Interchange during use may cause unstable detection performance.

    2、 Different dosage of heparin sodium and heparin lithium tube

    Although both are additives in vacuum test tubes, there are great differences in the amount of the two additives in the industry standards. For example, the standard of heparin lithium is 9.41-281U/ml, and the standard of heparin sodium is 121U-301U/ml of blood. If the blood collection vessel requires 1 liter of blood, the corresponding added dose is also different. Once the dose is not matched, the concentration in the tube will be too high or too low, leading to deviation in the results.

    3、 Differences in white blood cell count results

    Through experimental research, it was found that even under the same sample requirements, the white blood cell count results detected by heparin sodium and heparin lithium tubes were different. With the extension of time, heparin sodium will be more regular, and the white blood cell count will also increase slowly and then decrease, but the measured value of heparin lithium will decrease slightly, which is relatively slow and stable. If used interchangeably, it will interfere with the final detection results.

    Desheng, as a supplier of additives for blood collection in China, not only produces heparin sodium and heparin lithium, but also includes commonly used anticoagulants such as EDTA, EDTA, sodium citrate, etc., which can meet different needs of customers. If you are interested, please click the website for details!