Fasting no longer necessary before cholesterol test

For the first time, a team of international experts recommends that most people do not need to fast before having their cholesterol and triglyceride levels tested.

Fasting is a problem for many patients, they explain, and note the latest research shows that cholesterol and triglyceride levels are similar whether people fast or not.

The experts represent the European Atherosclerosis Society (EAS) and the European Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (EFLM) joint consensus initiative.

They refer to new research from Denmark, Canada, and the United States that included over 300,000 people and found it is not necessary to have an empty stomach to check cholesterol levels.

Apart from Denmark, all countries require that patients fast for at least 8 hours before checking their cholesterol and triglyceride levels - referred to as "lipid profile." In Denmark, non-fasting blood sampling has been in use since 2009.

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Researchers say fasting before a cholesterol test is unnecessary.

Source: medicalnewstoday

Next Generation Blood Separation Technology

A next-generation blood separation technology that is designed to enhance sample quality, improve laboratory efficiency and reduce laboratory turnaround time has received the Conformité Européenne (CE) marking. 

The tube is a single-use, plastic evacuated tube used to collect, separate, transport and process venous blood specimens to obtain high-quality plasma for in vitro diagnostic use and the tube has a revolutionary separator technology, providing a cleaner plasma sample with less cellular contamination, meaning the sample is more stable and allows a longer window to conduct testing when compared to existing blood separation tubes. 

BD Barricor tubes (BD, Becton, Dickinson and Company, Franklin Lakes, NJ, USA) are optimized to deliver a high quality plasma sample by reducing cellular content (versus plasma gel tubes), as a result of the mechanical separator remaining open throughout the centrifugation cycle.

Read more: Next Generation Blood Separation Technology

BD vacutainer separation tubes for blood specimens

Source: Becton, Dickinson, and Company