Key result
Potassium EDTA contamination occurs in ~14% of hypocalcaemic samples, with most normalizing upon re-draw.
Why the study?
There are no data on the prevalence of potassium EDTA contamination as a cause of hypocalcaemia, hypomagnesaemia, and hypozincaemia despite its known role in spurious hyperkalaemia.
Cross-Sectional
EDTA contamination is a relatively common and often unrecognized cause of spurious hypocalcaemia and hypomagnesaemia, which can lead to unnecessary patient harm and wasted resources.
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Clinicians should consider EDTA contamination before investigating unexplained hypocalcaemia; cross-sectional data leaves open true prevalence and practice impact.
Sharratt et al. (2009) conducted a cross-sectional in Spurious hyperkalaemia, hypocalcaemia, hypomagnesaemia, and hypozincaemia. Potassium EDTA contamination was evaluated on Prevalence of EDTA contamination. Potassium EDTA contamination was found in 14.3% of hypocalcaemic, 4.8% of hypomagnesaemic, and 1.4% of hypozincaemic samples, with 92% of re-bled patients showing normalized results.
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