A-123 Increased Rate of Recurrent Hemolysis Is Associated With COVID-19 Infection and Propofol Administration in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU)

Abstract Background Hemolysis is a pre-analytic issue that challenges clinical laboratories. When a specimen with significant hemolysis is obtained in our laboratory, tests where the hemolysis threshold is exceeded are not reported and blood is recollected. Unfortunately, in a subset of patients, the recollected specimen is also hemolyzed (termed “recurrent hemolysis”). In these cases, the second recollection utilizes special collection and handling protocols (i.e., hand-carried to lab, plasma collection, etc.) to mitigate preventable causes of hemolysis. Lipemia is also a known contributor to specimen hemolysis. Mayo Clinic Rochester experienced an increased rate of hemolysis as well as recurrent hemolysis during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic (January 2022). The objective of this study was to investigate the increased rate of recurrent hemolysis and compare to a rate prior to the COVID-19 pandemic (January 2019). Methods Retrospective data analysis was performed for January 2019 (negative control) and January 2022. The number of Mayo Clinic Rochester hospital admissions, admitting diagnosis, medications administered, and number of test collections performed were obtained using reporting functionality in our Electronic Health Record (EHR), Epic. The Laboratory Information System, SoftLab, was utilized to obtain recollection rates due to hemolysis. Data were normalized to total patient admissions for the specified period to account for inter-year variability. R/R Studio was utilized to analyze and visualize the data. Pearson’s Chi-squared test for independence was performed on categorical variables (significance defined as P < 0.05). Results A 28% decrease in hospital admissions (n = 3958:Jan-22 vs n = 5517:Jan-19) and a 23% decrease in total specimens collected on hospitalized patients (n = 40 557:Jan-22 vs n = 52 373:Jan-19) was observed between Jan-19 to Jan-22. However, the laboratory observed a 6% increase in hemolyzed specimens (n = 256:Jan-22 vs n = 241:Jan-19). Recurrent hemolysis occurred in 24% (n = 62/256) of Jan-22 and 17% (n = 43/241) of Jan-19 hemolyzed specimens and required special handling protocols. COVID positive patients comprised 48% (n = 30/62) of those requiring special handling protocols in Jan-22. Further examination revealed 34% (n = 21/62) of Jan-22 and 12% (n = 5/43) of Jan-19 cases of recurrent hemolysis were due to lipemia (P < 0.01). Chart review highlighted a potential source of lipemia from the administration of propof