Determinación de la estabilidad de linfocitos T con variables de tiempo y temperatura a través de citometría de flujo en el laboratorio Synlab 2021

Introduction: quantification of T-lymphocyte subsets is routinely performed in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV) by flow cytometry, in order to stage infection and response to antiretroviral therapy. Although some commercial houses suggest processing the samples in a period of 48 hours at 20-25 °C, there is no consensus about the conditions of time and temperature in which the Tlymphocytes are not affected. Materials and methods: fifty whole blood samples with EDTA anticoagulant from the Medellin metropolitan area were evaluated. Each one was exposed under conditions of temperature and storage time before processing.
Time points included < 12 hours (initial sample), 24, 48, 72, 96 and 120 hours. And at room temperature (20-25 °C) and refrigeration (4-8 °C). Results: variables such as temperature and time influence the counts of the different lymphocyte subpopulations; the effects of ambient temperature on the count and other variables are more critical than the passage of time. CD4 expression was the most stable marker; For each day that was evaluated, it was reduced by 0.08 cells/µl and it was not statistically significant (95% CI: 0.10-0.01; p = 0.104). The CD45 marker
presented a greater reduction in the absolute count. Over the days, on average, 0.53 cells/µl decreased, a fact that was statistically significant (95% CI: -0.97-0.09; p = 0.016). Regarding the viability evaluated in total lymphocytes, it remained high at a temperature of 4-8 °C for 96 hours, with a median of 72.7%