Communications: Comparison of Sodium Polyanetholesulfonate with EDTA and Heparin Anticoagulants by Assessing Packed Cell Volume and Blood Smear Quality of Blood from Hybrid White Bass × Striped Bass

Sodium polyanetholesulfonate, a synthetic polyanionic detergent compound commonly used as an anticoagulant in human blood culture transfer vials, was compared with EDTA and heparin, in two dilutions, in a pilot study of its anticoagulant abilities with blood from hybrid striped bass (white bass Morone chrysops × striped bass M. saxatilis). Packed cell volumes (PCVs) and blood smears made from the anticoagulant‐treated blood samples were compared across time and with a control. Sodium polyanetholesulfonate kept the hybrid striped bass blood anticoagulated during the 24‐h test period, but PCVs and smear quality were significantly different from the other treatments. Sodium polyanetholesulfonate does not appear to perform better than EDTA or heparin as an anticoagulatant for hybrid striped bass blood for hematology analysis.