Effects of syringe type and storage temperature on results of blood gas analysis in arterial blood of horses.
Authors: Picandet Valerie, Jeanneret Stephanie, Lavoie Jean-Pierre
Journal: Journal of veterinary internal medicine
Summary
# Editorial Summary: Blood Gas Analysis in Equine Arterial Blood Pre-analytical variables significantly compromise the reliability of equine arterial blood gas results, yet optimal collection and storage protocols remained poorly defined in equine practice until this investigation by Picandet and colleagues. The researchers collected arterial samples from ten horses using three syringe types (glass, dedicated plastic blood gas syringes, and multipurpose plastic tuberculin syringes) and measured oxygen and carbon dioxide partial pressures (PaO₂ and PaCO₂) plus pH at intervals from collection through 120 minutes, comparing ambient temperature storage against iced water storage. Glass syringes stored on ice maintained clinically acceptable PaO₂ stability for up to 117 minutes, whereas both plastic syringe types showed unacceptable variation (>10 mm Hg) within 10–17 minutes regardless of temperature; conversely, plastic syringes at room temperature offered superior PaCO₂ stability (83 minutes), whilst pH remained remarkably stable across all conditions for the first hour. For practitioners, these findings mandate that PaO₂ analysis requires glass syringes on ice to maximise the acceptable pre-analysis window, but if plastic syringes are used, samples must reach the laboratory within 10 minutes—a constraint that has practical implications for field assessment and transport protocols in equine respiratory or critical care investigations.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Use glass syringes with ice water storage if PaO2 analysis will be delayed beyond 10-15 minutes; otherwise results become unreliable
- •If using plastic syringes for arterial blood gas collection, analyze samples within 10 minutes regardless of whether you cool or store at room temperature
- •pH analysis is robust to collection and storage conditions, but PaO2 and PaCO2 require careful attention to timing and equipment selection
Key Findings
- •Glass syringes stored on ice maintained accurate PaO2 results for up to 117 ± 35 minutes, compared to 10-17 minutes for plastic syringes
- •Plastic syringes at ambient temperature provided stable PaCO2 results for up to 83 ± 16 minutes without significant variation
- •pH values remained stable (≤0.02 variation) for the first hour regardless of syringe type or storage temperature
- •Dedicated blood gas plastic syringes offered no advantage over multipurpose plastic syringes for maintaining sample stability