Comparison of glucose concentrations in simultaneously collected plasma and serum samples from outpatients in a routine laboratory setting

In real-world outpatient settings, glucose measurement in on-site centrifuged serum with separator gel does not appear to present a clinically relevant disadvantage for diabetes mellitus screening compared to on-site uncentrifuged NaF plasma. However, neither serum nor non-acidified NaF plasma ensures complete inhibition of in vitro glycolysis and must therefore be regarded as suboptimal for definitive diagnostic purposes.