A spuriously high potassium result is most often due to which pre-analytical issue?

A spuriously high potassium result is most often due to which pre-analytical issue?

• A. Hemolysis
• B. Lipemia
• C. Tourniquet Application
• D. Delayed Sample Processing

Answer: (A)

Potassium is highly concentrated inside red blood cells, so when a sample is hemolyzed, the cell membranes rupture and potassium floods into the serum or plasma. This releases large amounts of intracellular potassium into the specimen, producing a spuriously elevated measurement. Hemolysis is the most common pre-analytical issue because collection and handling steps—traumatic venipuncture, excessive needle passes, rough mixing, or shaking—readily cause it. Lipemia, tourniquet effects, or delays in processing can affect results in other ways, but they don’t cause the characteristic artificial rise in potassium that hemolysis does.

Potassium is highly concentrated inside red blood cells, so when a sample is hemolyzed, the cell membranes rupture and potassium floods into the serum or plasma. This releases large amounts of intracellular potassium into the specimen, producing a spuriously elevated measurement. Hemolysis is the most common pre-analytical issue because collection and handling steps—traumatic venipuncture, excessive needle passes, rough mixing, or shaking—readily cause it. Lipemia, tourniquet effects, or delays in processing can affect results in other ways, but they don’t cause the characteristic artificial rise in potassium that hemolysis does.