Why are lipemic and icteric specimens not suitable for coagulation testing?

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Multiple Choice

Why are lipemic and icteric specimens not suitable for coagulation testing?

Coagulation testing often relies on detecting clot formation with optical methods that track how much light passes through plasma. Lipemic plasma is cloudy from excess lipids, which scatters light and creates background turbidity that masks the change in signal when a clot forms. Icteric plasma has a strong yellow color from bilirubin that absorbs light, distorting the detector’s reading. Because the instrument’s clot-detection depends on clean optical measurements, these interferences make results unreliable or the test fail to detect clot formation. That’s why lipemic and icteric specimens aren’t suitable for these tests.

Coagulation testing often relies on detecting clot formation with optical methods that track how much light passes through plasma. Lipemic plasma is cloudy from excess lipids, which scatters light and creates background turbidity that masks the change in signal when a clot forms. Icteric plasma has a strong yellow color from bilirubin that absorbs light, distorting the detector’s reading. Because the instrument’s clot-detection depends on clean optical measurements, these interferences make results unreliable or the test fail to detect clot formation. That’s why lipemic and icteric specimens aren’t suitable for these tests.

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