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Complete blood count (CBC) analysis, often provided by an automated hematology analyzer, is a fundamental diagnostic test for evaluating a patient’s overall health status as a tool in diagnosing various medical conditions. CBC provides insights into the composition of the blood cells with parameters such as Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV) and Hemoglobin (HGB). MCV represents the average size and volume of red blood cells, while HGB indicates the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood. Different technologies are used in hematology analyzers, such as the impedance method and spectrophotometry, to achieve precise measurements of MCV and HGB. However, exploring other methodologies is of interest to potentially reduce instrument complexity and cost. Flow cytometry, based on light scatter, provides detailed information on the characteristics of individual cells and is commonly used in CBC analysis to differentiate white blood cells and reticulocytes. However, while the potential of this method for investigating MCV and HGB levels is well established, it is of significant interest to determine if the measurement techniques can be streamlined from three to one by solely using flow cytometry in this prototype analyzer. In this thesis, the possible use of measuring MCV and HGB using a flow cytometry system based on optical scatter data from a prototype hematology analyzer has been examined. The need to sphere the red blood cells before the measurements have also been investigated to evaluate reagent needs. The results have been evaluated based on the correlation factor, accuracy and precision of the proposed optical method. It is shown that the optical method in this thesis, can be used to measure MCV and HGB. However, the necessity of sphering the cells remains. Furthermore, a comparison is made between the optical method and the Sysmex XN-1000 to evaluate the accuracy of the obtained values. Finally, possible improvements and future work are suggested., Blodstatus, utförd av automatiserade hematologiinstrument, är ett grundlägggande diagnostiskt test för att utvärdera en patients allmänna hälsotillstånd som ett verktyg för att diagnostisera olika medicinska tillsånd. Blodstatus ger inblick i blodets sammansättning med parameterar som Medelvolym av röda blodkroppar (MCV) och Hemoglobin (HGB). MCV representerar den genomsnittliga storleken och volymen av röda blodkroppar, medan HGB indikerar blodets syrebärande förmåga. Olika metoder används i hematologiinstrument, såsom impedansmetoden och spektrofotometri för att mäta MCV och HGB värden. Undersökning med hjälp av andra metoder för mätning av dessa parameter är dock utav intresse för att potentiellt minska instrument komplexitet och kostnader. Flödescytometri, baserad på ljusspridning, ger detaljerad information om egenskaperna hos enskilda celler och används ofta för att differentiera vita blodkroppar och reticulocyter. Även om potentialen att undersöka MCV- och HGB-nivåer med denna metod redan är väletablerad, är det av betydande intresse att undersöka om man kan minska mätmetoderna från tre till en, genom att enbart använda flödescytometri i detta prototypinstrument. I detta examensarbete har möjligheten att mäta MCV och HGB med hjälp av flödescytometri baserat på optisk spridningsdata från en prototyp hematologiinstrument undersökts. Behovet av att ”sfära” de röda blodkropparna innan mätningarna har också undersökts för att utvärdera reagensbehov. Resultaten har utvärderats utifrån den förslagna optiska metodens korrelationsfaktor, noggrannhet och precision. Resultatet visar att den optiska metoden som presenteras i denna uppsats, kan användas för att mäta MCV och HGB. Dock kvarstår behovet av att ”sfära” cellerna. Dessutom görs en jämförelse mellan den optiska metoden och Sysmex XN-1000 för att utvärdera noggrannheten hos de erhållna värdena. Till sist ges förslag på möjliga förbättringar och vidareutveckling av den optiska metoden för framtiden.

Complete blood count (CBC) analysis, often provided by an automated hematology analyzer, is a fundamental diagnostic test for evaluating a patient’s overall health status as a tool in diagnosing various medical conditions. CBC provides insights into the composition of the blood cells with parameters such as Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV) and Hemoglobin (HGB). MCV represents the average size and volume of red blood cells, while HGB indicates the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood. Different technologies are used in hematology analyzers, such as the impedance method and spectrophotometry, to achieve precise measurements of MCV and HGB. However, exploring other methodologies is of interest to potentially reduce instrument complexity and cost. Flow cytometry, based on light scatter, provides detailed information on the characteristics of individual cells and is commonly used in CBC analysis to differentiate white blood cells and reticulocytes. However, while the potential of this method for investigating MCV and HGB levels is well established, it is of significant interest to determine if the measurement techniques can be streamlined from three to one by solely using flow cytometry in this prototype analyzer. In this thesis, the possible use of measuring MCV and HGB using a flow cytometry system based on optical scatter data from a prototype hematology analyzer has been examined. The need to sphere the red blood cells before the measurements have also been investigated to evaluate reagent needs. The results have been evaluated based on the correlation factor, accuracy and precision of the proposed optical method. It is shown that the optical method in this thesis, can be used to measure MCV and HGB. However, the necessity of sphering the cells remains. Furthermore, a comparison is made between the optical method and the Sysmex XN-1000 to evaluate the accuracy of the obtained values. Finally, possible improvements and future work are suggested., Blodstatus, utförd av automatiserade hematologiinstrument, är ett grundlägggande diagnostiskt test för att utvärdera en patients allmänna hälsotillstånd som ett verktyg för att diagnostisera olika medicinska tillsånd. Blodstatus ger inblick i blodets sammansättning med parameterar som Medelvolym av röda blodkroppar (MCV) och Hemoglobin (HGB). MCV representerar den genomsnittliga storleken och volymen av röda blodkroppar, medan HGB indikerar blodets syrebärande förmåga. Olika metoder används i hematologiinstrument, såsom impedansmetoden och spektrofotometri för att mäta MCV och HGB värden. Undersökning med hjälp av andra metoder för mätning av dessa parameter är dock utav intresse för att potentiellt minska instrument komplexitet och kostnader. Flödescytometri, baserad på ljusspridning, ger detaljerad information om egenskaperna hos enskilda celler och används ofta för att differentiera vita blodkroppar och reticulocyter. Även om potentialen att undersöka MCV- och HGB-nivåer med denna metod redan är väletablerad, är det av betydande intresse att undersöka om man kan minska mätmetoderna från tre till en, genom att enbart använda flödescytometri i detta prototypinstrument. I detta examensarbete har möjligheten att mäta MCV och HGB med hjälp av flödescytometri baserat på optisk spridningsdata från en prototyp hematologiinstrument undersökts. Behovet av att ”sfära” de röda blodkropparna innan mätningarna har också undersökts för att utvärdera reagensbehov. Resultaten har utvärderats utifrån den förslagna optiska metodens korrelationsfaktor, noggrannhet och precision. Resultatet visar att den optiska metoden som presenteras i denna uppsats, kan användas för att mäta MCV och HGB. Dock kvarstår behovet av att ”sfära” cellerna. Dessutom görs en jämförelse mellan den optiska metoden och Sysmex XN-1000 för att utvärdera noggrannheten hos de erhållna värdena. Till sist ges förslag på möjliga förbättringar och vidareutveckling av den optiska metoden för framtiden.

Background This study aimed to evaluate the effect of pomegranate juice intake on the inflammatory status and complete blood count in hospitalized Covid-19 patients, Methods This randomized, double-blinded placebo-controlled trial included 48 patients with two parallel arms. In addition to the standard care provided at the hospital, the patients consumed 500 mL of whole pomegranate juice (PJ) daily or a placebo for 14 days. Inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)) and complete blood count were determined at baseline and after the 14 days of intervention, Results At the end of the intervention, a significant decreased was observed in primary outcomes [mean difference (95 %CI)] including IL-6 [5.24(0.87–9.61)], CRP [23.19(11.93–34.44)] and ESR [10.52(1.54–19.50)] in the PJ group vs. before the intervention. In addition, significant changes were also observed in the some of the secondary outcomes, including neutrophils, lymphocytes, platelets, platelets-to-lymphocyte(PLR) and neutrophils-to-lymphocyte (NLR) ratios (p < 0.05) in the PJ group compared to before the intervention. At the end of the intervention period, the mean change of IL-6 [− 7.09(−12.21 to − 1.96)], white blood cells [− 3.09(− 6.14 to − 0.05)], neutrophils [− 9.12(−18.08 to −0.15)], lymphocyte [7.05(0.17–13.92)], platelets [− 94.54(− 139.33 to − 49.75)], PLR [− 15.99(− 29.31 to − 2.67)], blood oxygen saturation [1.75(0.13–3.37)] and MCV [0.31(− 0.25 to 0.88)] levels were significantly different between groups while no difference was observed between the two groups in other blood indices, Conclusion Our results suggest that pomegranate juice intake might slightly improve the inflammatory status and CBC outcomes of COVID-19 patients and it may be beneficial

In this article, we discuss the development of prognostic machine learning (ML) models for COVID-19 progression, by focusing on the task of predicting ICU admission within (any of) the next 5 days. On the basis of 6,625 complete blood count (CBC) tests from 1,004 patients, of which 18% were admitted to intensive care unit (ICU), we created four ML models, by adopting a robust development procedure which was designed to minimize risks of bias and over-fitting, according to reference guidelines. The best model, a support vector machine, had an AUC of.85, a Brier score of.14, and a standardized net benefit of.69: these scores indicate that the model performed well over a variety of prediction criteria. We also conducted an interpretability study to back up our findings, showing that the data on which the developed model is based is consistent with the current medical literature. This also demonstrates that CBC data and ML methods can be used to predict COVID-19 patients’ ICU admission at a relatively low cost: in particular, since CBC data can be quickly obtained by means of routine blood exams, our models could be used in resource-constrained settings and provide health practitioners with rapid and reliable indications.

BackgroundTo develop a sensitive risk score predicting the risk of mortality in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) using complete blood count (CBC).MethodsWe performed a retrospective cohort study from a total of 13,138 inpatients with COVID-19 in Hubei, China, and Milan, Italy. Among them, 9,810 patients with ≥2 CBC records from Hubei were assigned to the training cohort. CBC parameters were analyzed as potential predictors for all-cause mortality and were selected by the generalized linear mixed model (GLMM).FindingsFive risk factors were derived to construct a composite score (PAWNN score) using the Cox regression model, including platelet counts, age, white blood cell counts, neutrophil counts, and neutrophil:lymphocyte ratio. The PAWNN score showed good accuracy for predicting mortality in 10-fold cross-validation (AUROCs 0.92-0.93) and subsets with different quartile intervals of follow-up and preexisting diseases. The performance of the score was further validated in 2,949 patients with only 1 CBC record from the Hubei cohort (AUROC 0.97) and 227 patients from the Italian cohort (AUROC 0.80). The latent Markov model (LMM) demonstrated that the PAWNN score has good prediction power for transition probabilities between different latent conditions.ConclusionsThe PAWNN score is a simple and accurate risk assessment tool that can predict the mortality for COVID-19 patients during their entire hospitalization. This tool can assist clinicians in prioritizing medical treatment of COVID-19 patients.FundingThis work was supported by National Key R&D Program of China (2016YFF0101504, 2016YFF0101505, 2020YFC2004702, 2020YFC0845500), the Key R&D Program of Guangdong Province (2020B1111330003), and the medical flight plan of Wuhan University (TFJH2018006).

In this article we discuss the development of prognostic Machine Learning (ML) models for COVID-19 progression: specifically, we address the task of predicting intensive care unit (ICU) admission in the next 5 days. We developed three ML models on the basis of 4995 Complete Blood Count (CBC) tests. We propose three ML models that differ in terms of interpretability: two fully interpretable models and a black-box one. We report an AUC of. 81 and. 83 for the interpretable models (the decision tree and logistic regression, respectively), and an AUC of. 88 for the black-box model (an ensemble). This shows that CBC data and ML methods can be used for cost-effective prediction of ICU admission of COVID-19 patients: in particular, as the CBC can be acquired rapidly through routine blood exams, our models could also be applied in resource-limited settings and to get fast indications at triage and daily rounds.

BackgroundTo develop a sensitive risk score predicting the risk of mortality in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) using complete blood count (CBC).MethodsWe performed a retrospective cohort study from a total of 13,138 inpatients with COVID-19 in Hubei, China, and Milan, Italy. Among them, 9,810 patients with ≥2 CBC records from Hubei were assigned to the training cohort. CBC parameters were analyzed as potential predictors for all-cause mortality and were selected by the generalized linear mixed model (GLMM).FindingsFive risk factors were derived to construct a composite score (PAWNN score) using the Cox regression model, including platelet counts, age, white blood cell counts, neutrophil counts, and neutrophil:lymphocyte ratio. The PAWNN score showed good accuracy for predicting mortality in 10-fold cross-validation (AUROCs 0.92-0.93) and subsets with different quartile intervals of follow-up and preexisting diseases. The performance of the score was further validated in 2,949 patients with only 1 CBC record from the Hubei cohort (AUROC 0.97) and 227 patients from the Italian cohort (AUROC 0.80). The latent Markov model (LMM) demonstrated that the PAWNN score has good prediction power for transition probabilities between different latent conditions.ConclusionsThe PAWNN score is a simple and accurate risk assessment tool that can predict the mortality for COVID-19 patients during their entire hospitalization. This tool can assist clinicians in prioritizing medical treatment of COVID-19 patients.FundingThis work was supported by National Key R&D Program of China (2016YFF0101504, 2016YFF0101505, 2020YFC2004702, 2020YFC0845500), the Key R&D Program of Guangdong Province (2020B1111330003), and the medical flight plan of Wuhan University (TFJH2018006).

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV)-2, a novel virus, has spreading globally, leading the World Health Organization to declare a pandemic. This study aims to ascertain the changes in haematological and immunological parameters in COVID-19 patients. Methods: Data from 109 confirmed COVID-19 patients admitted for treatment in the Isolation Centre at Al-Zawia city between 16 September and 29 December 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were extracted from electronic medical records and compared with those of 52 healthy controls.Results: The laboratory tests included blood routines and cellular and inflammatory biomarkers compared with healthy controls.  Hospitalized patients had higher WBC (p<0.0001), platelet (P= 0.0060), NEU (P<0.0001), and RBC (P<0.0001) counts. C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) scores were compared with the normal range where data were not available from healthy controls and the results showed significantly higher levels in patients with Covid-19 (p<0.0001). Conversely, lymphocyte (LYM) counts were significantly lower in Covid-19 patients (P<0.0001).   Conclusion: Complete blood count (CBC) and inflammatory biomarkers, including CRP and ESR, can help clinicians to assess the severity and prognosis of patients with COVID-19.

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV)-2, a novel virus, has spreading globally, leading the World Health Organization to declare a pandemic. This study aims to ascertain the changes in haematological and immunological parameters in COVID-19 patients. Methods: Data from 109 confirmed COVID-19 patients admitted for treatment in the Isolation Centre at Al-Zawia city between 16 September and 29 December 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were extracted from electronic medical records and compared with those of 52 healthy controls.Results: The laboratory tests included blood routines and cellular and inflammatory biomarkers compared with healthy controls.  Hospitalized patients had higher WBC (p<0.0001), platelet (P= 0.0060), NEU (P<0.0001), and RBC (P<0.0001) counts. C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) scores were compared with the normal range where data were not available from healthy controls and the results showed significantly higher levels in patients with Covid-19 (p<0.0001). Conversely, lymphocyte (LYM) counts were significantly lower in Covid-19 patients (P<0.0001).   Conclusion: Complete blood count (CBC) and inflammatory biomarkers, including CRP and ESR, can help clinicians to assess the severity and prognosis of patients with COVID-19.

Background: Hematological patients, receiving intensive chemotherapy (predominantly acute leukemia patients), have repeated postchemotherapy periods with severe bone marrow suppression. As a result, these patients require regular monitoring of the complete blood counts (CBC) for optimal patient care. To reduce the strain on the patient, there is a need for a point-of-care (POC) hematology device that provides rapid and reliable results both in general and in cytopenic samples and is suitable for outpatient clinics. We evaluated the HemoScreen device for the most used CBC parameter both overall and at the lower range. Methods: The HemoScreen was compared with the Sysmex XN-9000 in 206 routine venous samples and 79 capillary bedside samples focusing on white blood cells (WBC), absolute neutrophil count (ANC), red blood cells (RBC), PLT and HGB. Results: The HemoScreen was less precise compared to the acceptance criteria set for larger and more advanced hematology instrument with a CV% 3.0-3.7 for WBCs, 3.6-8.4 for ANCs, 1.1-1.5 for RBCs, 2.5-4.4 for PLTs, and 1.7-2.3 for HGB. Correlation coefficient for all five parameters for the entire range was r >.95 and r >.90 at lower range for venous and capillary samples. Bias limits were within the CTCAE acceptance limits. Conclusions: The HemoScreen provides rapid and accurate test results, for evaluation of WBC, PLT, and HGB, as well as at low concentrations for guiding transfusions and postchemotherapy treatment. The device is easy to operate and can measure both venous and capillary samples. Therefore, the HemoScreen is well suited for smaller outpatient clinics and potentially home use.

Purpose: The rRT-PCR for COVID-19 diagnosis is affected by long turnaround time, potential shortage of reagents, high false-negative rates and high costs. Routine hematochemical tests are a faster and less expensive alternative for diagnosis. Thus, Machine Learning (ML) has been applied to hematological parameters to develop diagnostic tools and help clinicians in promptly managing positive patients. However, few ML models have been externally validated, making their real-world applicability unclear. Methods: We externally validate 6 state-of-the-art diagnostic ML models, based on Complete Blood Count (CBC) and trained on a dataset encompassing 816 COVID-19 positive cases. The external validation was performed based on two datasets, collected at two different hospitals in northern Italy and encompassing 163 and 104 COVID-19 positive cases, in terms of both error rate and calibration. Results and Conclusion: We report an average AUC of 95% and average Brier score of 0.11, out-performing existing ML methods, and showing good cross-site transportability. The best performing model (SVM) reported an average AUC of 97.5% (Sensitivity: 87.5%, Specificity: 94%), comparable with the performance of RT-PCR, and was also the best calibrated. The validated models can be useful in the early identification of potential COVID-19 patients, due to the rapid availability of CBC exams, and in multiple test settings.

In this article we discuss the development of prognostic Machine Learning (ML) models for COVID-19 progression: specifically, we address the task of predicting intensive care unit (ICU) admission in the next 5 days. We developed three ML models on the basis of 4995 Complete Blood Count (CBC) tests. We propose three ML models that differ in terms of interpretability: two fully interpretable models and a black-box one. We report an AUC of. 81 and. 83 for the interpretable models (the decision tree and logistic regression, respectively), and an AUC of. 88 for the black-box model (an ensemble). This shows that CBC data and ML methods can be used for cost-effective prediction of ICU admission of COVID-19 patients: in particular, as the CBC can be acquired rapidly through routine blood exams, our models could also be applied in resource-limited settings and to get fast indications at triage and daily rounds.

Background: Hematological patients, receiving intensive chemotherapy (predominantly acute leukemia patients), have repeated postchemotherapy periods with severe bone marrow suppression. As a result, these patients require regular monitoring of the complete blood counts (CBC) for optimal patient care. To reduce the strain on the patient, there is a need for a point-of-care (POC) hematology device that provides rapid and reliable results both in general and in cytopenic samples and is suitable for outpatient clinics. We evaluated the HemoScreen device for the most used CBC parameter both overall and at the lower range. Methods: The HemoScreen was compared with the Sysmex XN-9000 in 206 routine venous samples and 79 capillary bedside samples focusing on white blood cells (WBC), absolute neutrophil count (ANC), red blood cells (RBC), PLT and HGB. Results: The HemoScreen was less precise compared to the acceptance criteria set for larger and more advanced hematology instrument with a CV% 3.0-3.7 for WBCs, 3.6-8.4 for ANCs, 1.1-1.5 for RBCs, 2.5-4.4 for PLTs, and 1.7-2.3 for HGB. Correlation coefficient for all five parameters for the entire range was r >.95 and r >.90 at lower range for venous and capillary samples. Bias limits were within the CTCAE acceptance limits. Conclusions: The HemoScreen provides rapid and accurate test results, for evaluation of WBC, PLT, and HGB, as well as at low concentrations for guiding transfusions and postchemotherapy treatment. The device is easy to operate and can measure both venous and capillary samples. Therefore, the HemoScreen is well suited for smaller outpatient clinics and potentially home use.

The rRT-PCR test, the current gold standard for the detection of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), presents with known shortcomings, such as long turnaround time, potential shortage of reagents, false-negative rates around 15-20%, and expensive equipment. The hematochemical values of routine blood exams could represent a faster and less expensive alternative. Three different training data set of hematochemical values from 1,624 patients (52% COVID-19 positive), admitted at San Raphael Hospital (OSR) from February to May 2020, were used for developing machine learning (ML) models: the complete OSR dataset (72 features: complete blood count (CBC), biochemical, coagulation, hemogasanalysis and CO-Oxymetry values, age, sex and specific symptoms at triage) and two sub-datasets (COVID-specific and CBC dataset, 32 and 21 features respectively). 58 cases (50% COVID-19 positive) from another hospital, and 54 negative patients collected in 2018 at OSR, were used for internal-external and external validation. We developed five ML models: for the complete OSR dataset, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for the algorithms ranged from 0.83 to 0.90; for the COVID-specific dataset from 0.83 to 0.87; and for the CBC dataset from 0.74 to 0.86. The validations also achieved good results: respectively, AUC from 0.75 to 0.78; and specificity from 0.92 to 0.96. ML can be applied to blood tests as both an adjunct and alternative method to rRT-PCR for the fast and cost-effective identification of COVID-19-positive patients. This is especially useful in developing countries, or in countries facing an increase in contagions.

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV)-2, a novel virus, has spreading globally, leading the World Health Organization to declare a pandemic. This study aims to ascertain the changes in haematological and immunological parameters in COVID-19 patients. Methods: Data from 109 confirmed COVID-19 patients admitted for treatment in the Isolation Centre at Al-Zawia city between 16 September and 29 December 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were extracted from electronic medical records and compared with those of 52 healthy controls.Results: The laboratory tests included blood routines and cellular and inflammatory biomarkers compared with healthy controls.  Hospitalized patients had higher WBC (p<0.0001), platelet (P= 0.0060), NEU (P<0.0001), and RBC (P<0.0001) counts. C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) scores were compared with the normal range where data were not available from healthy controls and the results showed significantly higher levels in patients with Covid-19 (p<0.0001). Conversely, lymphocyte (LYM) counts were significantly lower in Covid-19 patients (P<0.0001).   Conclusion: Complete blood count (CBC) and inflammatory biomarkers, including CRP and ESR, can help clinicians to assess the severity and prognosis of patients with COVID-19.

COVID-19 induces haemocytometric changes. Complete blood count changes, including new cell activation parameters, from 982 confirmed COVID-19 adult patients from 11 European hospitals were retrospectively analysed for distinctive patterns based on age, gender, clinical severity, symptom duration and hospital days. The observed haemocytometric patterns formed the basis to develop a multi-haemocytometric-parameter prognostic score to predict, during the first three days after presentation, which patients will recover without ventilation or deteriorate within a two-week timeframe, needing intensive care or with fatal outcome. The prognostic score, with ROC curve AUC at baseline of 0.753 (95% CI 0.723-0.781) increasing to 0.875 (95% CI 0.806-0.926) on day 3, was superior to any individual parameter at distinguishing between clinical severity. Findings were confirmed in a validation cohort. Aim is that the score and haemocytometry results are simultaneously provided by analyser software, enabling wide applicability of the score as haemocytometry is commonly requested in COVID-19 patients.

Anaemia (haemoglobin level < 11 g/dl) is a health burden among preschool children and women of child bearing age and affects over 27% of the World population. Anaemia results from reduction in the functional haemoglobin or red blood cell numbers or mass leading to decreased oxygen carrying capacity characterized by clinical features such as; skin pallor, fatigue, shortness of breath, congestive heart failure, jaundice and tachycardia. Evaluating and interpreting red blood cell morphology provides key information in the differential diagnosis of Anaemia. However, the current standard Peripheral thin blood method of assessing red blood cell morphology is highly technical and time consuming. There was need to carry out assessment into the alternative Automated Complete Blood Count method to aid in the selection of the reliable assay. The objective of the study was to compare between Peripheral blood thin film and Automated Complete Blood Count morphologically classified Anaemia in children. The study was cross-sectional and employed simple random sampling technique. Blood samples were obtained from the participants, assessed for red blood cell morphology by Automated Complete Blood Count and Peripheral thin blood film. Data was analyzed using SPSS and a paired t-test used to test for the statistical significance. Results show no significant difference in the scores for Peripheral thin blood film (M=25.5, SD=11.82) and Automated Complete Blood Count (M=25.5, SD=12.66) t (3) =0.00, p =1.000. Automated Complete Blood Count is a method of choice in assessing red blood cell morphology and evaluating Anaemia. The study recommends assessment into various Automated Complete Blood Count models available in the market to aid in the selection of most reliable one. &nbsp

Anaemia (haemoglobin level < 11 g/dl) is a health burden among preschool children and women of child bearing age and affects over 27% of the World population. Anaemia results from reduction in the functional haemoglobin or red blood cell numbers or mass leading to decreased oxygen carrying capacity characterized by clinical features such as; skin pallor, fatigue, shortness of breath, congestive heart failure, jaundice and tachycardia. Evaluating and interpreting red blood cell morphology provides key information in the differential diagnosis of Anaemia. However, the current standard Peripheral thin blood method of assessing red blood cell morphology is highly technical and time consuming. There was need to carry out assessment into the alternative Automated Complete Blood Count method to aid in the selection of the reliable assay. The objective of the study was to compare between Peripheral blood thin film and Automated Complete Blood Count morphologically classified Anaemia in children. The study was cross-sectional and employed simple random sampling technique. Blood samples were obtained from the participants, assessed for red blood cell morphology by Automated Complete Blood Count and Peripheral thin blood film. Data was analyzed using SPSS and a paired t-test used to test for the statistical significance. Results show no significant difference in the scores for Peripheral thin blood film (M=25.5, SD=11.82) and Automated Complete Blood Count (M=25.5, SD=12.66) t (3) =0.00, p =1.000. Automated Complete Blood Count is a method of choice in assessing red blood cell morphology and evaluating Anaemia. The study recommends assessment into various Automated Complete Blood Count models available in the market to aid in the selection of most reliable one. &nbsp

Individual parameters of complete blood count (CBC) have been associated with worse outcome in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). However, the prognostic role of CBC taken as a whole has never been evaluated for long-term incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs). Patients were grouped according to their hematopoietic cells' inflammatory response at different time points during hospital stay. Patients with admission white blood cell count >10 × 109/L, discharge hemoglobin <120 g/L, and discharge platelet count >250 × 109/L were defined as "high-risk CBC." Among 1076 patients with ACS discharged alive, 129 (12%) had a "high-risk CBC" and 947 (88%) had a "low-risk CBC." Patients with "high-risk CBC" were older and had more comorbidities. Over a median follow-up of 665 days, they experienced a higher incidence of MACE compared to "low-risk CBC" patients (18.6% vs 8.1%). After adjustment for age, age-adjusted Charlson comorbidity index, female sex, cardiac arrest, suboptimal discharge therapy, coronary artery bypass, and ejection fraction, a high-risk CBC was significantly associated with increased MACE occurrence (adjusted hazard ratio 1.80; 95% CI: 1.09-3.00). The CBC was a prognostic marker in patients with ACS, and its evaluation at admission and discharge could better classify patient's risk and improve therapeutic management.

Anaemia (haemoglobin level < 11 g/dl) is a health burden among preschool children and women of child bearing age and affects over 27% of the World population. Anaemia results from reduction in the functional haemoglobin or red blood cell numbers or mass leading to decreased oxygen carrying capacity characterized by clinical features such as; skin pallor, fatigue, shortness of breath, congestive heart failure, jaundice and tachycardia. Evaluating and interpreting red blood cell morphology provides key information in the differential diagnosis of Anaemia. However, the current standard Peripheral thin blood method of assessing red blood cell morphology is highly technical and time consuming. There was need to carry out assessment into the alternative Automated Complete Blood Count method to aid in the selection of the reliable assay. The objective of the study was to compare between Peripheral blood thin film and Automated Complete Blood Count morphologically classified Anaemia in children. The study was cross-sectional and employed simple random sampling technique. Blood samples were obtained from the participants, assessed for red blood cell morphology by Automated Complete Blood Count and Peripheral thin blood film. Data was analyzed using SPSS and a paired t-test used to test for the statistical significance. Results show no significant difference in the scores for Peripheral thin blood film (M=25.5, SD=11.82) and Automated Complete Blood Count (M=25.5, SD=12.66) t (3) =0.00, p =1.000. Automated Complete Blood Count is a method of choice in assessing red blood cell morphology and evaluating Anaemia. The study recommends assessment into various Automated Complete Blood Count models available in the market to aid in the selection of most reliable one. &nbsp

Introduction: The complete blood count (CBC) is a frequently performed laboratory test today. This study evaluated the effects of temperature and sample storage time on parameters of CBC which could produce misleading results of clinical significance. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, CBC was checked in 102 randomly selected healthy individuals and baseline measurements were analyzed using the Sysmex XS 500i fully automated hematology analyzer. CBC was done on samples up to 48 hr of storage at temperatures of 4 ± 2°C, 23 ± 2°C, and 31 ± 2°C. Values were checked at time intervals of 6, 24, and 48 hr. Results: Among CBC parameters, white blood cell, red blood cell, hemoglobin, mean cell hemoglobin (MCH), neutrophils and lymphocytes were stable at all three temperatures up to 48 hr. Monocytes, eosinophils, MCH concentration, hematocrit (Htc), and red cell distribution width-coefficient of variation showed statistically significant changes at 23 ± 2°C and 31 ± 2°C. A significant decline in platelet count (PLT) and increment in mean platelet volume and basophil count were seen at all study temperatures up to 48 hr. Conclusion: This study shows that most parameters of the CBC are unaffected with the studied storage temperature up to 48 hr except for the PLT which should be performed within 6 hr of the post-collection time. To avoid changes in a few parameters such as Htc, it is best to store the sample at 4 ± 2°C if any delay is anticipated.

BackgroundThe absolute neutrophil count and the immature/total neutrophil ratio (I/T) provide information about the risk of early onset sepsis in newborns. However, it is not clear how to combine their potentially overlapping information into a single likelihood ratio.MethodsWe obtained electronic records of blood cultures and of complete blood counts with manual differentials drawn <1 hour apart on 66,846 infants ≥ 34 weeks gestation and <72 hours of age born at Kaiser Permanente Northern California and Brigham and Women's Hospitals. We hypothesized that dividing the immature neutrophil count (I) by the total neutrophil count (T) squared (I/T) would provide a useful summary of the risk of infection. We evaluated the ability of the I/T to discriminate newborns with pathogenic bacteremia from other newborns tested using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (c).ResultsDiscrimination of the I/T (c = 0.79; 95% confidence interval: 0.76-0.82) was similar to that of logistic models with indicator variables for each of 24 combinations of the absolute neutrophil count and the proportion of immature neutrophils (c = 0.80, 95% confidence interval: 0.77-0.83). Discrimination of the I/T improved with age, from 0.70 at <1 hour to 0.87 at ≥ 4 hours. However, 60% of I/T had likelihood ratios of 0.44-1.3, thus only minimally altering the pretest odds of disease.ConclusionsCalculating the I/T could enhance prediction of early onset sepsis, but the complete blood counts will remain helpful mainly when done at >4 hours of age and when the pretest probability of infection is close to the treatment threshold.

BackgroundA degenerative left shift (DLS) in dogs is reported to be a poor prognostic indicator, but no studies have been reported to verify this claim.Hypothesis/objectivesTo characterize the canine population affected by DLS and to determine if the presence and severity of the DLS are associated with increased risk of euthanasia or death.AnimalsThree-hundred and nineteen dogs with DLS (cases) and 918 dogs without DLS (controls) presented to the University of California, Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital between April 1, 1995 and April 1, 2010.MethodsRetrospective case-control study. All cases had a CBC performed within 24 hours of presentation that showed an immature neutrophil count higher than the mature neutrophil count. Controls were matched by year of presentation and primary diagnosis. Survival analysis was used to determine the risk of death or euthanasia associated with DLS and other potential predictors.ResultsHalf of cases versus 76% of controls were alive at discharge. Median in-hospital survival time was 7 days for cases and 13 days for controls. DLS was a significant predictor of death or euthanasia in both univariate and multivariate analysis (hazard ratio, HR, 1.9; 95% CI 1.54-2.34).Conclusions and clinical importanceDLS in dogs is associated with an increased risk of death or euthanasia. This finding, however, varies with disease diagnosis and should be interpreted in light of the individual patient.

BackgroundA degenerative left shift (DLS) in dogs is reported to be a poor prognostic indicator, but no studies have been reported to verify this claim.Hypothesis/objectivesTo characterize the canine population affected by DLS and to determine if the presence and severity of the DLS are associated with increased risk of euthanasia or death.AnimalsThree-hundred and nineteen dogs with DLS (cases) and 918 dogs without DLS (controls) presented to the University of California, Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital between April 1, 1995 and April 1, 2010.MethodsRetrospective case-control study. All cases had a CBC performed within 24 hours of presentation that showed an immature neutrophil count higher than the mature neutrophil count. Controls were matched by year of presentation and primary diagnosis. Survival analysis was used to determine the risk of death or euthanasia associated with DLS and other potential predictors.ResultsHalf of cases versus 76% of controls were alive at discharge. Median in-hospital survival time was 7 days for cases and 13 days for controls. DLS was a significant predictor of death or euthanasia in both univariate and multivariate analysis (hazard ratio, HR, 1.9; 95% CI 1.54-2.34).Conclusions and clinical importanceDLS in dogs is associated with an increased risk of death or euthanasia. This finding, however, varies with disease diagnosis and should be interpreted in light of the individual patient.

Tyrimo tikslas - išanalizuoti hematologinių ir biocheminių tyrimų ypatumus anemijų diagnostikoje, jų tarpusavio korialiaciją, įtaką diagnostikai. Tyrimo uždaviniai - apibūdinti biocheminių ir hematologinių tyrimų diagnostinę reikšmę, palyginti automatizuotą hematologinį ir mikroskopinį tyrimo metodą, palyginti kaip dera tarpusavyje hematologniai ir biocheminiai tyrimai, išsiaiškinti tyrimo metu pasitaikančias klaidas, pateikti išvadas ir praktinius patarimus. Tyrimo metodai - tiriamasis darbas paremtas tyrimų atlikimu - elektrinės varžos arba impedanso metodu, mikroskopijos metodu, elektrochemoluminescentinės imunologinės analizės metodu, fotometriniu metodu, literatūros ir duomenų analize. Tyrimo objektas - tiriamųjų imtis yra 100 tiriamųjų, atrinkti tiksliniu būdu, visų jų hematologinių tyrimų rodikliai yra žemesni už normoje esančius rodiklius. Hematologinis tyrimas suteikia informaciją apie kraujo ligas. Tik atliekant laboratorinę kraujo analizę galima nustatyti hematologinius anemijų požymius, kurie turi didelę diagnostinę reikšmę. Šių tyrimų pagalba galima laiku diagnozuoti ligas, sekti gydymo veiksmingumą. Hematologiniai tyrimai daugelyje laboratorijų šiuo metu yra atliekami analizatoriais. Hematologinis analizatorius suskaičiuoja ir įvertina žymiai didesnį kiekį ląstelių, visus duomenis palygina su norminiais dydžiais, apdoroja aritmetiškai. Todėl tyrimų patikimumas išaugo. Laboratorijoje visi tyrimai atliekami prisilaikant galiojančių hematologinių normų ir... [toliau žr. visą tekstą], Objective of the work - to analyse the peculiarities of haematological and biochemical analyses in anaemia diagnosis, their cross - correlation,influence on diagnosis. Tasks of the work - to describe the diagnostic significance of haematological and biochemical analyses,to compare the automated haematological and microscopic method, to compare how haematological and biochemical analyses tally with each other,to find the errors that occur during the analyses, to give conclusions and practical tips. Methods of the study - the research work was based on studies performed by electrical resistance or impedance method, microscopy method, method of electrochemiluminescence immunological analysis, photometric method, literature and data analysis. Subject of the study - the sample group is 100 persons selected by the target method, haematological indidces of all of them are lower the indices within the normal range. The goal of this research is to make analysis of the pecularities of hematologic and biochemical testing in anemia diagnostics. The tasks of the research are to characterize the diagnostic significance of the hematologic testing, to make kaka comparision of hematologic autimatized and microscopic testing method, to point out the mistakes that might appear during testing, to present conculusions and to give practical advice. The object of the research is the pecularities of hematologic testing. Hematologic testing provides information with blood diseases. It is possible to... [to full text]