We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us
PURITAN MEDICAL

Download Mobile App




Seasonal Temperature Impacts Patients’ Laboratory Results

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 23 Dec 2021
Every year, 13 billion laboratory tests are performed in the USA, nearly 800 million in the UK, and many more worldwide. More...
Test results provide critical data on clinically important changes in patient physiology.

These test including acute variations in plasma volume, body temperature, circadian rhythms, but can also vary for more idiosyncratic reasons from one phlebotomy to the next, like differences in technique or sample processing. The effect of ambient temperature on the day blood is drawn has been explored.

Health scientists at the University of California, Berkeley (Berkeley, CA, USA) and from the University of Chicago (Chicago, IL, USA) analyzed a large dataset of test results from 2009 to 2015, spanning several climate zones. In a sample of more than four million patients, they modeled more than two million test results as a function of temperature. They measured how day-to-day temperature fluctuations affected results, over and above the patients’ average values, and seasonal variation. In the dataset were 4,877,039 individuals who had laboratory result data. Daily temperature ranges from a low of −28 °C (Fairbanks, AK, USA; February 16, 2011) to 49 °C (Yuma, AZ, USA; July 23, 2014).

The investigators reported that the results showed that temperature affected more than 90% of individual tests and 51 of 75 assays, are significantly affected by temperature, including measures of kidney function (increased creatinine, urea nitrogen, and urine specific gravity), cellular blood components (decreased neutrophils, erythrocytes, and platelets), and lipids (increased high-density lipoprotein [HDL] and decreased total cholesterol, triglycerides, and low-density lipoprotein [LDL]). These small, day-to-day fluctuations did not likely reflect long-term physiological trends. For example, lipid panels checked on cooler days appeared to suggest a lower cardiovascular risk, leading to almost 10% fewer prescriptions for cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins to patients tested on the coolest days compared to the warmest days, even though these results probably did not reflect stable changes in cardiovascular risk.

One practical implication of the study is that laboratories could statistically adjust for ambient temperature on the test day when reporting laboratory results. Doing so could reduce weather-related variability at a lower cost than new laboratory assay technology or investments in temperature control in transport vans. In practice, decisions on adjustment would need to be at the discretion of the laboratory staff and the treating physician, potentially on a case-by-case basis.

Ziad Obermeyer, MD is the Distinguished Associate Professor of Health Policy and Management and first author of the study, said, “The textbook way of thinking about medical investigation is bench to bedside. First, we come up with a hypothesis, based on theory, then we test it with data. As more and more big data comes online, like the massive dataset of laboratory tests we used, we can flip that process on its head: discover fascinating new patterns and then use bench science to get to the bottom of it. I think this bedside-to-bench model is just as important as its better-known cousin because it can open up totally new questions in human physiology.”

The authors concluded that ambient temperature affects the results of many laboratory tests. These distortions, in turn, affect medical decision-making. Statistical adjustment in reporting is feasible and could limit undesired temperature-driven variability. The study was published on December 10, 2021 in the new journal MED.

Related Links:
University of California, Berkeley
University of Chicago



Gold Member
Troponin T QC
Troponin T Quality Control
3-Part Differential Hematology Analyzer
Swelab Alfa Plus Sampler
New
Host Response Immunoassay Test
MeMed BV
New
Staining Management Software
DakoLink
Read the full article by registering today, it's FREE! It's Free!
Register now for FREE to LabMedica.com and get access to news and events that shape the world of Clinical Laboratory Medicine.
  • Free digital version edition of LabMedica International sent by email on regular basis
  • Free print version of LabMedica International magazine (available only outside USA and Canada).
  • Free and unlimited access to back issues of LabMedica International in digital format
  • Free LabMedica International Newsletter sent every week containing the latest news
  • Free breaking news sent via email
  • Free access to Events Calendar
  • Free access to LinkXpress new product services
  • REGISTRATION IS FREE AND EASY!
Click here to Register








DIASOURCE (A Biovendor Company)

Channels

Hematology

view channel
Image: CitoCBC is the world first cartridge-based CBC to be granted CLIA Waived status by FDA (Photo courtesy of CytoChip)

Disposable Cartridge-Based Test Delivers Rapid and Accurate CBC Results

Complete Blood Count (CBC) is one of the most commonly ordered lab tests, crucial for diagnosing diseases, monitoring therapies, and conducting routine health screenings. However, more than 90% of physician... Read more

Immunology

view channel
Image: A simple blood test could replace surgical biopsies for early detecion of heart transplant rejection (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

Blood Test Detects Organ Rejection in Heart Transplant Patients

Following a heart transplant, patients are required to undergo surgical biopsies so that physicians can assess the possibility of organ rejection. Rejection happens when the recipient’s immune system identifies... Read more

Pathology

view channel
These images illustrate how precision oncology Organ Chips recapitulate individual patients’ responses to chemotherapy (Photo courtesy of Wyss Institute at Harvard University)

Cancer Chip Accurately Predicts Patient-Specific Chemotherapy Response

Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), one of the two primary types of esophageal cancer, ranks as the sixth leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide and currently lacks effective targeted therapies.... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2025 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.