용혈이 Vitamin B12 / Folic acid 검사 결과에 미치는 영향

The Effect of in vitro Hemolysis on Vitamin B12 / Folic Acid Results

Purpose: Vitamin B12 and folic acid are type of water-soluble vitamin and those work as a secondary vital enzyme, but especially those are involved in the nuclear DNA synthesis. Those are mainly measured in order to diagnose megaloblastic anemia and to assess the storage of folic acid during pregnancy. It is generally known that the hemolyzed serum is useless for folic acid and vitamin B12, but it is not easy to abide by this information because our lab (Samkwang Medical Laboratories) is reference laboratory. We tested how much the extent of hemolyzed serum had influence on the results. Materials and Method: We performed the tests of vitamin B12, folic acid. For the hemolysis effect study , we used 40 cases. According to the level of A, B and C groups, each group had 10 samples which were mechanically hemolyzed serum. Results: Hemolysis did not affect the vitamin B12 results. However in case of folic acid, the value increased according to the degree of hemolysis. And severe hemolyzed cases had the highest value (greater than 20 ng/ml). Conclusions: Preventing the hemolysis, it has to be informed that blood-collecting, separation and storage are performed more carefully. As you see from the above results, hemolyzed serum is not proper for folic acid test, and hemolysis does not affect the results of vitamin B12. However, for the more accurate results, it is necessary to avoid hemolysis.