Technical note: Effect of delayed analysis of cooled lithium-heparinized whole blood on the stability of ionized calcium, ionized magnesium, sodium, potassium, chloride, glucose, and lactate in samples from dairy cows

The objectives of this study were to describe the stability of bovine whole-blood electrolytes, glucose, and lactate in samples collected in lithium heparin tubes and stored in thermoconductive modules immersed in ice water. A total of 99 Jersey cows (40 first-parity, 18 second-parity, and 41 third-parity or greater cows) from a commercial dairy farm in West Texas were enrolled between June and July 2018. Blood was collected from the jugular...