Validation of Hematology Analyzers

Perhaps the most common laboratory procedure performed for hospital patients and outpatients is complete blood count (CBC) or CBC with differential. CBC serves as a screening and diagnostic test for a wide range of conditions and diseases as well as a monitoring tool for treatment and disease status. Given its foundational nature and despite its relative simplicity, the veracity of this basic blood testing is essential. Therefore, thorough validation testing on all new hematology analyzers must be performed to ensure patient safety.

It is reasonable to assume that a newly acquired piece of diagnostic equipment would run as intended, as manufacturers perform their own validation testing to prove intended use and to fulfill regulatory requirements prior to launching a product in the market. However, the ultimate responsibility of verifying instrument performance specifications and characteristics prior to the patient testing falls to the end-user laboratory.

Read more: Validation of Hematology Analyzers

Source: MedLabMag

Complete Blood Count in Primary Care

Key points

To provide an overview of the use of the complete blood count in primary care and to provide advice on appropriate follow-up for abnormal results.

Introduction

The complete blood count (CBC) is the most frequently requested blood test in New Zealand. The primary points of interest in the CBC are often whether a patient is anaemic, whether the white count shows evidence of infection and whether the platelets are at a level that may affect haemostasis.

GPs have told us they are reasonably comfortable interpreting CBC results with marked abnormalities, but would like guidance when the results show only subtle abnormalities or when the clinical picture is not clear.

This is a consensus document

This is not a comprehensive document covering all causes of abnormal results; it is a consensus document produced in conjunction with specialist haematologists, providing an overview for some scenarios encountered in primary care.

Background

Haematopoiesis - Cell development

All blood cells are produced within the bone marrow from a small population of stem cells. Less than one in 5000 of the marrow cells is a stem cell. These cells represent a self-renewing population.

Download here: Complete Blood Count in Primary Care

Source: Best Practice Advocacy Centre New Zealand