Abstract
BackgroundAssessment of hemoglobin is one of the most reliable indicators for anemia, and is widely used to screen for anemia among pregnant women. The HemoCue® has been widely used for as a point-of-care device for hemoglobin estimation in health facilities. Previous studies showed contradictory results regarding the accuracy of HemoCue®.MethodsThis was a hospital-based cross sectional study carried- out among pregnant women at Khartoum hospital in Sudan to find out whether the measurement of hemoglobin concentration by HemoCue® using venous or capillary samples was comparable to that of the automated hematology analyzer as standard. Bland and Altman method was used to compare the measurements with an acceptable difference of ± 1.0 g/dl.ResultsAmong the 108 subjects in this study the mean (SD) level of hemoglobin level using HemoCue® venous sample, HemoCue® capillary sample and automated hematology analyzer were 12.70 (1.77), 12.87 (2.04) and 11.53 (1.63) g/dl, respectively. Although the correlations between the measurements were all significant there was no agreement between HemoCue® and automated hematology analyzer. The bias + SD (limits of agreement) for HemoCue® venous versus hematology analyzer was 1.17 ± 1.57 (-1.97, 4.31) g/dl, HemoCue® capillary versus hematology analyzer was 1.34 ± 1.85 (-2.36, 5.04) g/dl, and HemoCue® venous versus HemoCue® capillary samples was 017 ± 1.90 and (3.97-3.63) g/dl.ConclusionHemoglobin concentration assessment by HemoCue® using either venous or capillary blood samples has shown unacceptable agreement with automated hematology analyzer.Virtual slidesThe virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/8797022296725036
Highlights
Anemia is one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality in developing countries, especially among pregnant women [1]
Previous studies showed contradictory results regarding the accuracy of HemoCue®; some of research reported a high accuracy of HemoCue® compared with standard laboratory methods
HemoCue® capillary versus automated hematology analyzer There was a positive correlation between hemoglobin levels by using HemoCue® capillary sample versus automated hematology analyzer (r = 0.51, P < 0.001)
Summary
Anemia is one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality in developing countries, especially among pregnant women [1]. Hemoglobin concentration is routinely measured using automated hematology analyzers. These are very accurate and reliable, they are expensive and problems of samples transport to the laboratory may delay treatment resulting in preventable deaths [7]. The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy of HemoCue® using venous and capillary samples with that of the automated hematology analyzer in the measurement of hemoglobin among pregnant Sudanese women at Khartoum. Assessment of hemoglobin is one of the most reliable indicators for anemia, and is widely used to screen for anemia among pregnant women. The HemoCue® has been widely used for as a point-of-care device for hemoglobin estimation in health facilities. Previous studies showed contradictory results regarding the accuracy of HemoCue®
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