Practical recommendations for managing hemolyzed samples in clinical chemistry testing

We suggest here a pragmatic approach for managing results of clinical chemistry testing in hemolyzed samples collected from adults/older children, attempting to balance the need to produce quality laboratory data with clinical urgency of releasing test results. Automatic measurement of the hemolysis index (H-index) in serum or plasma is highly advisable, whilst low-quality assessment of this test remains less good than a visual inspection. Regarding its practical use, when the H-index value does not generate an analytically significant bias, results can be released, whilst when the value is associated with analyte variation in a range between analytically and clinically significant bias (i.e. variation does not exceed the reference change value [RCV]), results of hemolysis-sensitive tests can be released in association with a comment describing the direction in which data are potentially altered, suggesting the need to collect another sample. When the H-index is associated with analyte variation exceeding clinically significant bias (i.e. variation exceeds the RCV), results of hemolysis-sensitive tests should be suppressed and replaced with a comment that biased results cannot be released because the sample is preanalytically compromised and advising the recollection of another sample. If H-index values reach an even higher critical cut-off (i.e. H-index corresponding to a cell-free hemoglobin concentration >= 10 g/L), all laboratory data may be unreliable and should hence be suppressed and replaced with a comment that all data cannot be released because the sample is grossly hemolyzed, also suggesting the recollection of another sample. Due to inaccuracy and imprecision, the use of corrective formulas for adjusting data of hemolysis-sensitive tests is discouraged.