Comparison of point-of-care NOVA CCX blood gas analyzer to laboratory analyzer in a population of healthy adult cats.

Abstract

To compare the level of agreement of measurement of analytes (sodium, chloride, potassium, urea nitrogen [UN], creatinine, glucose) in a population of healthy adult cats between the point-of-care (POC) analyzer and laboratory analyzer. To establish reference intervals for the POC analyzer in healthy adult cats. Prospective observational study. University teaching hospital. Fifty-five cats were screened. Seven cats were excluded due to aggression that prohibited phlebotomy, and 1 cat was excluded due to prolonged restraint; 47 cats were enrolled. None. In this patient population, reference intervals for the POC analyzer were calculated: sodium 145-157mmol/L; chloride 116-124mmol/L; potassium 3.4-5.5mmol/L; UN 5.71-13.9mmol/L (16-39mg/dl); creatinine 74.3-189.2mmol/L (0.84-2.14mg/dl); and glucose 4-11.8mmol/L (72-213mg/dl). Comparison between the POC analyzer and laboratory analyzer using the Bland-Altman method was performed. The bias for each analyte is as follows: sodium 1.55mmol/L; chloride 0.99mmol/L; potassium 0.21mmol/L; UN -0.25mmol/L (-0.7mg/dl); creatinine 9.73mmol/L (0.11mg/dl); and glucose 0.5mmol/L (9.79mg/dl). Reference intervals for each analyte were similar to other chemistry analyzers. There was no significant difference between the POC and laboratory analyzers in analysis of UN, with a statistically significant difference observed with sodium, potassium, chloride, creatinine, and glucose. However, the values are likely not sufficiently different to alter initial clinical decisions regarding patient care.