Abstract
Aim Flow Cytometric Crossmatch (XM) is critical to the work-up of renal transplant patients. The complexity of the data acquired in XM testing and the amount of manual data entry into reporting software is a challenge. Testing personnel are under pressure to provide timely, accurate, and reliable results. The development of the HistoTrac Canto Utility has enabled fast and accurate calculation and the automated transfer of data. Methods The HistoTrac Canto Utility was developed by the TriCore IT team to reduce data entry errors when transferring data from the BD FACSCanto II to HistoTrac. The utility was developed using the computer language C#, and built on a Windows Presentation Foundation app foundation. The Utility imports a CSV file from the FACSCanto and generates an XLS file that contains all laboratory established control ranges and standard deviations (SD) which can be updated as needed. The Utility performs the Calculations by picking the lowest MDCF value of the Negative controls, places it in the “Neg used for Calculation” cell, and generates the MCS value and shift results for each patient serum and controls. If all Negative controls are below the lab defined negative range, the lowest patient sample is used for calculations, and the XM is given an assessment of “ ERROR ” instead of “ VALID. ” Assessment of XM validity is dependent on the Positive control MCS value, which must be higher than 3 SD for both T and B cell in order for the XM to be “ VALID ”. The Utility will use the higher MDCF values (T and B cell) of the patient duplicates for calculations. Currently T cell duplicates must be within 6% and B cell within 10% of each other. If duplicates are not within these ranges, an assessment of “ BAD ” is made. The XLS is then imported into Histotrac using the “Histotrac Interface Canto Utility”. Results The HistoTrac Canto Utility aids in assessing XM results by selecting the lowest negative control and using that data to calculate the shifts. Using the established Control Ranges and SDs, the Utility is able to assign a result and assess quality assurance metrics such as sample duplication, negative control evaluation and XM validity. Conclusions The HistoTrac Canto Utility eliminates manual data entry errors in the shift calculations, and reduces testing turnaround times.
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