Perbedaan Kadar Bilirubin Total Pada Tabung Serum Separator Tanpa Ditutup KertasKarbon Segera Periksa Dan Ditutup Kertas Karbon Tunda 2 jam

Background: Total bilirubin testing is an important parameter in evaluating liver
function, but bilirubin is photolabile and easily degrades due to light exposure.
Delayed testing, which frequently occurs in laboratories, can affect bilirubin
stability and potentially lead to inaccurate results. The use of carbon paper with a
90–95% opacity level as a light protector is expected to maintain the stability of
total bilirubin levels during testing delays.
Objective: To determine the difference in total bilirubin levels in separator serum
tubes without carbon paper wrap tested immediately and those with carbon paper
wrap tested after a 2-hour delay.
Methods: This pre-experimental study used a one-group pretest-posttest design.
The study was conducted at the Palembang Center for Public Health Laboratory. A
total of 50 subjects were selected using a non-probability sampling technique with
a purposive sampling method. Data were analysed using a Paired Sample T-Test
with a 95% confidence level.
Result: The average total bilirubin level in serum samples without carbon paper
wrap tested immediately was 0.50 mg/dL, while in those with carbon paper wrap
tested after a 2-hour delay it was 0.49 mg/dL. Statistical analysis revealed no
significant difference between the two conditions with a significance value of p =
0.558 (> 0.05).
Conclusion: There is no significant difference in total bilirubin levels between
serum samples without carbon paper wrap tested immediately and those with
carbon paper wrap tested after a 2-hour delay.
Suggestion: Suggest that clinical laboratories use specialized sample tubes for total
bilirubin testing, future research is recommended to use alternative testing methods
such as the Jendrassik-Grof method, utilize other types of carbon paper such as
black wax-based carbon paper, consider longer delay variations to evaluate the
maximum effectiveness of carbon paper protection.