Although we find no correlation between the lipaemic index and haemolysis index on our Roche analysers (c701), this may be due to the Roche spectral correction mentioned by Wesley above.

Goce Dimeski from Brisbane did publish on a possible effect of lipid on RBC membrane fragility a few years ago;

http://www.clinchem.org/content/51/12/2425.full

It is possible that the icteric and lipemic samples indeed are simply interfering with the hemolysis measurement.  If you instrument measures red color by absorbance, as an indication of cell-free hemoglobin, then anything absorbing red light could give false positives for hemolysis.  Lipemic serum probably light scatters most light, causing a high absorbance background.  It's possible that icteric samples have some red absorbance as far as a spectrometer is concerned. 

Simple test:  draw a nice clean fasting blood sample from a healthy subject.  Then have that subject enjoy a typical fatty American breakfast (eggs, bacon, butter) and draw the sample about 30 minutes post-prandial. It would be unlikely that hemolysis would suddenly happen in the lipemic sample, so the fasting sample is the control.  Do you get an increased hemolysis reading in the lipemic sample?

In line with Dr. Gelfand, I suggest to check if the high absorbance is related to hemolysis or it is just an interference of lipid particles or red color. Also, you can check this by taking fasting sample from a healthy subject and treating it by different concentrations of exogenous fat (e.g. triglycerdie). You can, then, conclude, the maximum allowable serum lipid do not interfering the test. I personally noticed that lipemic samples interfere in measurement of many photometric tests. I think if sample fat interfere the test, you should change your sampling protocol (fasting) or should remove fats (by iso-propanol or defating devices), or by changing the method of hemolysis measurement (methods other than spectrometric).

When you measure the hemolytic index, the absorbance at 570-600 nm and 660 - 700nm is used. Lipemia can influence the absorbance at these wavelengths, simply by obstructing light by the lipids and chylomicrons... To counteract this interaction, the hemolytic index is corrected for lipemia in modern clinical chemistry analysers

Roche, for instance uses: H = 1/A x (abs2) - B x (Abs3)

H=hemolysis index, A= scaling factor for Hb, B corrects for lipemia and the abs are the absorbances in relation to blancs.

The interference is a well-known analytical anomaly.

Although we find no correlation between the lipaemic index and haemolysis index on our Roche analysers (c701), this may be due to the Roche spectral correction mentioned by Wesley above.

Goce Dimeski from Brisbane did publish on a possible effect of lipid on RBC membrane fragility a few years ago;

http://www.clinchem.org/content/51/12/2425.full

Dear:  Mc Donald

I think the hemolysis a cause is phebotomy  for example long tourniquet time, vigorous mixing blood collection tube and dont dry completely alcohol  this cause in vitro  blood cell lysis . This influence in different biochemical parameter. 

Is need quantification free hemoglobin

Best regards

http://www.biochemia-medica.com/2011/21/79

Many thanks for your answers. When we drilled down in our data it only really occurred at extremes of lipaemia (trigs>70 mmol/L). 

Best wishes 

Tim