Comparison of Automated Hematology Analyzers XN-350 and XT-4000i with Microscopic Examination for Body Fluid Analysis

Abstract

The objective of this study was to compare automated hematology analyzers XN-350 and XT-4000i with microscopic examination which is a gold standard method for body fluid analysis. Body fluid in this study included cerebrospinal fluid, ascites fluid, pleural fluid, synovial fluid, etc.  Red blood cells (RBC) and white blood cells (WBC) counting were the essential parts of body fluids analysis. White blood cell differentiation was divided into 2 groups; mononuclear cell (MN) consisting of lymphocyte, monocyte and macrophage and polymorphonuclear cell (PMN) consisting of neutrophil, eosinophil and basophil. The results showed that RBC count and WBC count from XN-350, XT4000i and conventional microscopic cell count had very good correlation values. WBC differentiation (MN, PMN) also had good correlation values. Automated hematology analyzers (XN-350 and XT4000i) were shown to be an alternative choice for body fluid analysis. However, this method still has a limitation in examining samples with abnormal cells or malignant cells which need to be determined by conventional microscopic examination.