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Reliability of Capillary Complete Blood Count in Children With Acute Gastroenteritis
Hanna Wielińska-Wiśniewska1, Jan K Nowak1, Michał Da Browski1
1Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Metabolic Diseases, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland.
Insights
Capillary complete blood count (CBC) is reliable for detecting leukocytosis in children with acute gastroenteritis (AGE). This method offers high accuracy and concordance with venous blood tests, making it a useful diagnostic tool.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Hematology
- Clinical Pathology
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Acute gastroenteritis (AGE) is common in children.
- Accurate complete blood count (CBC) is crucial for diagnosis and management.
- Assessing capillary blood CBC reliability for leukocytes in pediatric AGE is needed.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy and reliability of capillary blood CBC for detecting leukocytosis in children with AGE.
- To compare CBC parameters obtained from capillary versus venous blood samples.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective cross-sectional study design.
- Comparison of CBC results from capillary and venous blood samples in 140 children with AGE.
- Analysis included leukocyte count, hemoglobin, erythrocyte count, hematocrit, and platelet count.
Main Results:
- Capillary CBC demonstrated high accuracy (95%) in identifying leukocytosis, with an AUC of 0.98.
- Sensitivity was 86% and specificity was 98% for detecting leukocytosis.
- High concordance (intraclass correlation coefficient > 0.77) was observed between capillary and venous CBC measurements for all parameters.
Conclusions:
- Capillary complete blood count is a reliable and accurate method for assessing leukocytosis in children with acute gastroenteritis.
- This minimally invasive technique can be effectively utilized in emergency settings for pediatric patients.
- Capillary CBC offers a valuable alternative to venous sampling for routine hematological assessment in pediatric AGE.
Abstract:
Background: To assess the reliability of complete blood count (CBC) in the capillary blood of children with acute gastroenteritis (AGE), with a focus on leukocytes. Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study. Complete blood count was compared between the capillary and venous blood in children admitted to a pediatric gastroenterology department with primary diagnosis of AGE (ICD-10 A09, A08.0, A08.2). Capillary blood was obtained in the emergency room and venous blood was sampled in the ward shortly thereafter during peripheral intravenous line placement. Results: One hundred and forty children were included. The mean (±SD) age and weight of patients were 3.0 ± 2.9 years and 16 ± 9 kg; 26% had leukocytosis. The mean difference between obtaining results of capillary and venous blood tests was 2 ± 1 h. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for the identification of leukocytosis using the capillary blood was 0.98 (95% CI 0.96-1.0). The sensitivity and specificity were 86 and 98%, respectively (accuracy 95%). The positive and negative predictive values were 94 and 95%, respectively. The intraclass correlation coefficient revealed high concordance between capillary and venous CBC measurements (leukocyte count 0.94, hemoglobin 0.88, erythrocyte count 0.77, hematocrit 0.79, platelet count 0.90). Matched pairs comparisons revealed marginally higher erythrocytes (difference of medians: 0.2 T/L), hemoglobin (0.3 g/dL), hematocrit (1.0%), and platelets (9 G/L) in the capillary blood. Conclusion: Capillary CBC is useful in detecting leukocytosis in children with AGE.
