What is the use of green lithium heparin vacuum tube?

The green lithium heparin vacuum tube is a commonly used blood collection container, with a green cap and lithium heparin added inside as an anticoagulant. Lithium heparin is a highly efficient anticoagulant that prevents blood clotting by enhancing the action of antithrombin, ensuring that the blood sample remains in liquid form during collection and testing. It is mainly used for the collection and processing of specific types of blood samples in clinical testing.

Main Uses

Collection of Anticoagulated Blood Samples

One of the main uses of the green lithium heparin tube is for the anticoagulation treatment of blood. Heparin is a natural anticoagulant that prevents blood clotting by inhibiting the activity of thrombin. It is suitable for tests that require rapid plasma separation, such as emergency tests. After centrifugation, plasma samples can be obtained quickly without waiting for the blood to clot naturally.

Compared to other types of anticoagulants, the advantage of heparin is that it preserves various components in the blood better, making the green lithium heparin tube an ideal choice for tests that require blood gas analysis, blood chemistry analysis, or blood cell analysis.

Clinical Laboratory Testing

In clinical medicine, the green lithium heparin tube is widely used in various blood analyses and tests. Common testing items include, but are not limited to:

Liver function tests: such as measuring transaminases, bilirubin, etc.

Kidney function tests: such as measuring creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, etc.

Lipid tests: such as measuring cholesterol, triglycerides, etc.

Blood sugar tests: used to measure blood glucose levels.

Electrolyte tests: such as measuring blood potassium, sodium, etc.

These tests are crucial for diagnosing and monitoring various diseases, such as liver diseases, kidney diseases, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.

Blood Sample Preservation

The heparin in the green lithium heparin tube effectively delays the blood clotting process, ensuring that blood samples can be stored for a longer period in the laboratory without affecting test results due to clotting. This is especially useful when transporting or storing blood samples for extended periods, providing better stability for the samples.

Use in Hemodialysis and Surgery

In some medical procedures, especially dialysis treatment and surgery, heparin lithium green cap tubes are also used to collect blood samples. These procedures require that the cellular components in the blood do not coagulate, so anticoagulant blood vessels are required to collect blood.

Plasma or Whole Blood Testing

The green lithium heparin tube is also suitable for tests that require plasma or whole blood. Since lithium heparin does not affect the proteins and other components in the plasma, it ensures that the plasma components are preserved intact, making subsequent tests more accurate.

The green lithium heparin vacuum tube, as a specialized tool for collecting and preserving blood samples, is one of the important methods for obtaining plasma samples in both emergency and routine tests. Through the use of heparin as an anticoagulant, it effectively prevents blood clotting, ensuring that the blood components remain undisturbed, leading to more accurate test results.