Clinical validation of a new blood collection tube for the accuracy of total homocysteine measurement by different methods.

Abstract Objective: To evaluate the clinical use of Homocysteine–Primavette®, a new blood collection medium for total homocysteine (tHcy) assay. Methods: The agreement between baseline tHcy and tHcy in stabilized samples (40 h) was assessed for FPIA, HPLC, GC-MS, LC-MS, and ICL. Results: tHcy concentrations in whole blood were stable for 40 h in Hcy–Primavette tubes. Conclusion: Primavette tubes are a good alternative for the accurate tHcy measurement and no readjustment of reference intervals is needed.