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July 8, 2004

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Question from St. Paul, Minnesota, USA:

I have cystic fibrosis related diabetes (CFRD). I have had oral glucose tolerance tests since I was five, and before I was diagnosed with CFRD the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) came back saying “slightly hemolyzed.” What does hemolyzed mean? Is it bad? I can’t find it in any dictionary.

Answer:

From: DTeam Staff

Hemolyzed just means that the tube of blood was not collected properly and some of the red blood cells “died” before they were separated from the serum for chemical analysis. Some tests are invalid under such circumstances. Since red blood cells have some glucose inside of them, this could change the value of the glucose readings, so the lab notifies the pathologists and clinicians of this fact and they can then decide. You should discuss the results with your doctor/nurse and they can then interpret the results better once they see all the values together.

SB