Complete Blood Count as point of care testing QBC STARâ„¢: Preliminary evaluation.

Napolitano, Gavino; Caracciolo, Alessandra; Apassiti Esposito, Sara; Della Malva, Nunzia; Manenti, Barbara; Guerra, Giovanni; Ottomano, Cosimo; Lippi, Giuseppe; Buoro, Sabrina

INTRODUCTION Point of care testing (POCT) represents a valuable option when laboratory data shall be urgently available for timely clinical management, with a turnaround time (TAT) that is unfeasible using conventional laboratory instrumentation. This study was aimed to compare the performance of QBC STARâ„¢ compared to Sysmex XN-module and the reference optical microscopy (OM) assessment. MATERIAL AND METHODS One hundred peripheral blood samples, collected in K3 EDTA tubes, and 50 capillary blood samples obtained by finger stick were analyzed with QBC STARâ„¢, Sysmex XN-module, and OM. Data were compared with Passing-Bablok regression and Bland-Altman plots. RESULTS The Passing-Bablok regression analysis (QBC STARâ„¢ capillary sample vs XN-module) yielded slopes comprised between 0.30 and 1.37, while the intercepts ranged between -17.57 and 232.6. Bland-Altman plots yielded relative bias comprised between -4.87% (for MN QBC STARâ„¢ capillary sample vs XN-module) and 27% (PLT QBC STARâ„¢ capillary sample vs XN-module). A significant bias was found for all parameters except MN and WBC, RBC in all and pediatric samples, and HB in adults samples. CONCLUSION The results of this analytical evaluation suggest that QBC STARâ„¢ may not be the ideal tool for performing complete blood count analysis for diagnostic purposes, while it could be more useful in urgent/emergent conditions, such as for rapid monitoring of some hematological parameters (eg, WBC and HB).