I received this question on Friday, January 17, 2025: “Hello, where can I find guidance or literature on using sodium citrate tubes to mitigate platelet clumping?”
Thank you for your question. This question was partially addressed in a March 11, 2024 post entitled Platelet Satellitism, however, I’ve attached two open-access articles that are helpful. First and foremost, ensure that the collector has appropriately mixed the EDTA specimen by gentle inversion, as inadequate mixing is the most likely cause of platelet clumping. If you’ve demonstrated a true platelet satellitism artifact, these articles provide data that cite the significance of pseudothrombocytopenia and support using citrate tubes and additional approaches to obtaining specimens that provide accurate platelet counts:
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