Summary
Introduction: Although there is broad knowledge on the effect of several preanalytical errors on laboratory hematology, there is no information on the reliability of routine hematological ...testing on hemolyzed specimens.
Methods: K2EDTA‐anticoagulated blood collected from 13 healthy volunteers was divided in three aliquots. Aliquot A did not undergo further manipulation, while the second and third aliquots (B and C, respectively) were passed 5 and 10 times through a small‐gauge needle to produce scalar amounts of hemolysis. Hematological testing was first performed on Advia 2120. The plasma was then separated by centrifugation and tested for lactate dehydrogenase and hemolysis index (HI).
Results: As compared with the nonhemolyzed aliquot, analytically and clinically significant variations were recorded in both mildly and frankly hemolyzed specimens for lactate dehydrogenase, HI, red blood cells count, hematocrit, mean corpuscular volume, mean hemoglobin content, lymphocytes, basophils, and large unstained cells. Both the platelets count and the mean platelet volume were also dramatically affected. The other parameters tested (hemoglobin, red blood cell distribution width, neutrophils, and eosinophils) did not vary significantly.
Conclusion: The results of routine hematological testing on mildly to frankly hemolyzed specimens might be unreliable.
Long-term side effects of high doses of anabolic androgenic steroids self-administration were evaluated in this study. Twenty male bodybuilders, voluntarily starting steroid self-administration, were ...followed every 6 months over 2 years. Physical examination, haematological, metabolic and endocrine variables, semen analysis, hepatic and prostate ultrasound and echocardiographic evaluations were performed. LH values (baseline 3.43 +/- 1.75) were suppressed at 18 (1.98 +/- 1.99) (p = 0.026) and 24 (2.43 +/- 2.17) (p = 0.026), and FSH (3.95 +/- 2.01) at 6 (3.01 +/- 2.16) (p = 0.031), 12 (2.45 +/- 2.54) (p = 0.029), 18 (2.02 +/- 2.29) (p = 0.032) and 24 (3.42 +/- 2.64) (p = 0.032) months and SHBG (34.11 +/- 10.88) values significantly lowered at 12 (24.81 +/- 12.49) (p < 0.05), 18 (21.28 +/- 11.15) (p < 0.01), 24 months (25.42 +/- 11.16) (p < 0.01). A significant decrease in spermatozoa count (p < 0.01), and fertility index (p = 0.01) occurred. HDL-cholesterol (baseline 56.94 +/- 13.54) was reduced at 18 (41.86 +/- 14.17) (p < 0.01) and 24 (43.82 +/- 18.67) (p < 0.05) months and Apo A-1 at 12 (p < 0.001), 18 (p = 0.05) and 24 (p = 0.05) months. The most important long-term adverse effects were lower fertility and the impairment of lipid profile associated with an increased cardiovascular risk.
Introduction
Recent automated hematology analyzers (HAs) can identify and report nucleated red blood cells (NRBC) count as a separate population out of white blood cells (WBC). The aim of this study ...was to investigate the analytical performances of NRBC enumeration on five top of the range HAs.
Methods
We evaluated the within‐run and between‐day precision, limit of blank (LoB), limit of detection (LoD), and limit of quantitation (LoQ) of XE‐2100 and XN‐module (Sysmex), ADVIA 2120i (Siemens), BC‐6800 (Mindray), and UniCel DxH 800 (Beckman Coulter). Automated NRBC counts were also compared with optical microscopy (OM).
Results
The limits of detection for NRBC of the BC‐6800, XN‐module, XE‐2100, UniCel DxH 800, and ADVIA 2120i are 0.035×109/L, 0.019×109/L, 0.067×109/L, 0.038×109/L, and 0.167×109/L, respectively. Our data indicated excellent performance in terms of precision. The agreement with OM was excellent for BC‐6800, XN‐module, and XE‐2100 (Bias 0.023, 0.019, and 0.033×109/L, respectively). ADVIA 2120i displayed a significant constant error and UniCel DxH 800 both proportional and small constant error.
Conclusion
Regards to NRBC counting, the performances shown by BC‐6800, XN‐module, and XE‐2100 are excellent also a low count, ADVIA 2120i and UniCel DxH 800 need to be improved.
Background
The aims of this study were to compare the diagnostic accuracy of blood smear review criteria, by means of three different panel rules, those proposed by: the International Consensus Group ...for Hematology 41‐ICGH rules, the Italian Survey IS rules and the Working Group on Hematology‐SIBioC (WGH) consensus rules (WGH rules).
Methods
This study is based on 2707 peripheral blood (PB) samples referred for routine hematological testing to the WGH‐associated laboratories displaced all over the Italian territory. The PB samples were processed on seven different hematology analyzers (HAs): Advia 2120i, XE‐2100, BC‐6800, ABX Pentra, XN‐1000, Cell‐DYN Sapphire, and DxH800, respectively. All the results provided by the HAs were analyzed through the application of three different blood smear review criteria: that is, the 41‐ICGH, IS, and WGH rules. Finally, data were compared with those obtained by optical microscopy (OM), as the current gold standard.
Results
The overall the agreement OM classification with ICGH, IS, and WGH panel rules is 0.83, 0.83, and 0.85, respectively. The false negatives are 2.1%, 3.0%, and 2.9%, while false positives are 15.1%, 13.7%, and 11.7%, respectively. All the seven HAs showed variable interinstrument performance, as three different criteria for OM review were adopted on each of them from time to time.
Conclusion
These results presented show that the customization of validation rules is necessary for enhancing the quality of hematological testing and optimizing workflow.
Knee dislocations are catastrophic injuries that demand emergent evaluation and often require a multidisciplinary approach. Long-term outcome studies are relatively scarce secondary to the ...variability in any given study population and the wide variety of injury patterns between knee dislocations. Multiple controversies exist with regard to outcomes using various treatment methods (early vs late intervention, graft selection, repair vs reconstruction of medial and lateral structures, rehabilitation regimens). Careful clinical evaluation is essential when knee dislocation is suspected.
PDF
