Novel Use of Glacial Acetic Acid and Owren-Koller Buffer in the Laboratory Evaluation of Clotted Blood Sample Specimen from Immunoglobulin M Paraproteinemia with Hyperviscosity Syndrome

It is not common to observe a variety of paraproteins produced in the body which are capable of leading to inaccurate values in laboratory testing. The current case report focused on an 82-year-old Malay male, initially presenting with symptoms of hyperviscosity syndrome (HVS), including unilateral...

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Main Authors: Samuel Sherng Young Wang, Christina Lai Lin Sum, Haoming Tang, Ling Cao, Robert Charles William Hawkins, Kian Guan Eric Lim, Bingwen Eugene Fan, Kiat Hoe Ong, Christian Aledia Gallardo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2025-04-01
Series:Journal of Applied Hematology
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Online Access:https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/joah.joah_30_25
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author Samuel Sherng Young Wang
Christina Lai Lin Sum
Haoming Tang
Ling Cao
Robert Charles William Hawkins
Kian Guan Eric Lim
Bingwen Eugene Fan
Kiat Hoe Ong
Christian Aledia Gallardo
author_facet Samuel Sherng Young Wang
Christina Lai Lin Sum
Haoming Tang
Ling Cao
Robert Charles William Hawkins
Kian Guan Eric Lim
Bingwen Eugene Fan
Kiat Hoe Ong
Christian Aledia Gallardo
author_sort Samuel Sherng Young Wang
collection DOAJ
description It is not common to observe a variety of paraproteins produced in the body which are capable of leading to inaccurate values in laboratory testing. The current case report focused on an 82-year-old Malay male, initially presenting with symptoms of hyperviscosity syndrome (HVS), including unilateral weakness and reduced level of effort tolerance, who had a paraprotein in the body that interfered with the values of the complete blood count (CBC) in the laboratory. A routine sample of CBC was dispatched to the laboratory and was reported as clotted in the automated analysis. The laboratory was unable to proceed to analyze bone marrow aspirate, serum electrophoresis (ELP), and flow cytometry due to the presence of the paraprotein. To properly identify the paraprotein and to enable correct analysis of the necessary laboratory testing, a water bath of 37°C was employed with the blood tube, and glacial acetic acid, along with Owren-Koller buffer, was utilized to make the paraprotein soluble. Subsequently, the CBC and serum ELP were manually performed, demonstrating a paraprotein of immunoglobulin M (IgM) lambda. Symptoms were HVS gradually resolved with rituximab and bendamustine, with a reduction in the level of the IgM paraprotein. The current case highlights the importance of an effective, alternative method of solubilization for a paraprotein that interfered with usual laboratory practices.
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spelling doaj-art-aa3aebc07b1443229557f2a3f0513c1a2025-08-20T02:44:53ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsJournal of Applied Hematology1658-51272454-69762025-04-0116217618010.4103/joah.joah_30_25Novel Use of Glacial Acetic Acid and Owren-Koller Buffer in the Laboratory Evaluation of Clotted Blood Sample Specimen from Immunoglobulin M Paraproteinemia with Hyperviscosity SyndromeSamuel Sherng Young WangChristina Lai Lin SumHaoming TangLing CaoRobert Charles William HawkinsKian Guan Eric LimBingwen Eugene FanKiat Hoe OngChristian Aledia GallardoIt is not common to observe a variety of paraproteins produced in the body which are capable of leading to inaccurate values in laboratory testing. The current case report focused on an 82-year-old Malay male, initially presenting with symptoms of hyperviscosity syndrome (HVS), including unilateral weakness and reduced level of effort tolerance, who had a paraprotein in the body that interfered with the values of the complete blood count (CBC) in the laboratory. A routine sample of CBC was dispatched to the laboratory and was reported as clotted in the automated analysis. The laboratory was unable to proceed to analyze bone marrow aspirate, serum electrophoresis (ELP), and flow cytometry due to the presence of the paraprotein. To properly identify the paraprotein and to enable correct analysis of the necessary laboratory testing, a water bath of 37°C was employed with the blood tube, and glacial acetic acid, along with Owren-Koller buffer, was utilized to make the paraprotein soluble. Subsequently, the CBC and serum ELP were manually performed, demonstrating a paraprotein of immunoglobulin M (IgM) lambda. Symptoms were HVS gradually resolved with rituximab and bendamustine, with a reduction in the level of the IgM paraprotein. The current case highlights the importance of an effective, alternative method of solubilization for a paraprotein that interfered with usual laboratory practices.https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/joah.joah_30_25glacial acetic acidhyperviscosity syndromeowren-koller bufferparaproteinemia
spellingShingle Samuel Sherng Young Wang
Christina Lai Lin Sum
Haoming Tang
Ling Cao
Robert Charles William Hawkins
Kian Guan Eric Lim
Bingwen Eugene Fan
Kiat Hoe Ong
Christian Aledia Gallardo
Novel Use of Glacial Acetic Acid and Owren-Koller Buffer in the Laboratory Evaluation of Clotted Blood Sample Specimen from Immunoglobulin M Paraproteinemia with Hyperviscosity Syndrome
Journal of Applied Hematology
glacial acetic acid
hyperviscosity syndrome
owren-koller buffer
paraproteinemia
title Novel Use of Glacial Acetic Acid and Owren-Koller Buffer in the Laboratory Evaluation of Clotted Blood Sample Specimen from Immunoglobulin M Paraproteinemia with Hyperviscosity Syndrome
title_full Novel Use of Glacial Acetic Acid and Owren-Koller Buffer in the Laboratory Evaluation of Clotted Blood Sample Specimen from Immunoglobulin M Paraproteinemia with Hyperviscosity Syndrome
title_fullStr Novel Use of Glacial Acetic Acid and Owren-Koller Buffer in the Laboratory Evaluation of Clotted Blood Sample Specimen from Immunoglobulin M Paraproteinemia with Hyperviscosity Syndrome
title_full_unstemmed Novel Use of Glacial Acetic Acid and Owren-Koller Buffer in the Laboratory Evaluation of Clotted Blood Sample Specimen from Immunoglobulin M Paraproteinemia with Hyperviscosity Syndrome
title_short Novel Use of Glacial Acetic Acid and Owren-Koller Buffer in the Laboratory Evaluation of Clotted Blood Sample Specimen from Immunoglobulin M Paraproteinemia with Hyperviscosity Syndrome
title_sort novel use of glacial acetic acid and owren koller buffer in the laboratory evaluation of clotted blood sample specimen from immunoglobulin m paraproteinemia with hyperviscosity syndrome
topic glacial acetic acid
hyperviscosity syndrome
owren-koller buffer
paraproteinemia
url https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/joah.joah_30_25
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