Differences in detecting blasts between ADVIA 2120 and Beckman-Coulter LH750 hematology analyzers

Area of Science:

• Hematology
• Clinical Pathology
• Laboratory Medicine

Background:

• Complete blood count (CBC) is a routine screening tool for hematologic disorders.
• Blast cells in peripheral blood are key indicators in leukemia diagnosis and monitoring.
• Automated hematology analyzers are increasingly used for initial detection of abnormal cells.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the analytical performance of two hematology analyzers, Siemens ADVIA 2120 and Beckman-Coulter LH750.
• To evaluate their accuracy in detecting blast cells in peripheral blood samples.
• To assess the impact of analyzer performance on laboratory diagnostic workflows.

Main Methods:

• Comparative analytical study of two hematology analyzers.
• Analysis of 390 peripheral blood samples from a general hospital population, including oncology patients.
• Comparison of analyzer blast cell flags against manual differential counts as the reference method.

Main Results:

• Siemens ADVIA 2120 achieved 100% sensitivity for blast cell detection, significantly higher than the Beckman-Coulter LH750's 62%.
• The ADVIA 2120 had lower specificity (49%) compared to the LH750 (86%).
• Laboratory review criteria effectively managed false positives and negatives from both analyzers.

Conclusions:

• The Siemens ADVIA 2120 offers enhanced sensitivity for detecting peripheral blood blasts, crucial for leukemia screening.
• Analyzer performance characteristics, combined with stringent manual review protocols, are vital for accurate blast cell identification.
• Optimizing analyzer selection and laboratory workflows can improve the efficiency and accuracy of hematologic abnormality detection.