Which anticoagulant is used together with sodium fluoride?

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Multiple Choice

Which anticoagulant is used together with sodium fluoride?

When preserving a blood sample for glucose measurement, you need both to stop glycolysis and to prevent the blood from clotting. Sodium fluoride acts as a glycolysis inhibitor, keeping glucose levels stable by blocking the enzymatic steps that would consume glucose after the blood is drawn. To prevent clotting in the same sample, an anticoagulant is added—potassium oxalate works here by binding calcium, which is essential for the coagulation cascade. Other anticoagulants like lithium heparin, sodium citrate, or EDTA serve in different tests or tubes and don’t provide the fluoride-based glycolysis inhibition used for accurate glucose testing. So the anticoagulant paired with sodium fluoride is potassium oxalate.

When preserving a blood sample for glucose measurement, you need both to stop glycolysis and to prevent the blood from clotting. Sodium fluoride acts as a glycolysis inhibitor, keeping glucose levels stable by blocking the enzymatic steps that would consume glucose after the blood is drawn. To prevent clotting in the same sample, an anticoagulant is added—potassium oxalate works here by binding calcium, which is essential for the coagulation cascade. Other anticoagulants like lithium heparin, sodium citrate, or EDTA serve in different tests or tubes and don’t provide the fluoride-based glycolysis inhibition used for accurate glucose testing. So the anticoagulant paired with sodium fluoride is potassium oxalate.

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