Alinity hq platelet count is not impacted by severe microcytosis

Area of Science:

• Hematology
• Clinical Diagnostics
• Laboratory Medicine

Background:

• Impedance-based platelet counting methods often overestimate platelet counts in microcytic samples.
• Optical-fluorescence platelet counting (PLT-F) is considered less affected by microcytosis.
• The Abbott Alinity hq utilizes multi-dimensional optical platelet counting.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the accuracy of the Abbott Alinity hq analyzer's platelet counting technology in microcytic blood samples.
• To compare the Alinity hq's performance against established impedance (PLT-I) and optical-fluorescence (PLT-F) methods.

Main Methods:

• Analyzed 464 blood samples using Abbott Alinity hq, Sysmex XN-3000 (PLT-I and PLT-F).
• Categorized samples into normocytic, microcytic, and severely microcytic based on Mean Cell Volume (MCV).
• Assessed platelet concentration, Mean Platelet Volume (MPV), and Red Cell Distribution Width (RDW).

Main Results:

• Alinity hq demonstrated excellent agreement with PLT-F (r=1.00), unaffected by MCV.
• Sysmex PLT-I showed weaker correlation (r=0.98) and significant overestimation in severe microcytosis.
• Alinity hq provided accurate platelet counts and RBC indices across all MCV ranges, unlike Sysmex XN which flagged MPV and reported higher RDW in microcytic samples.

Conclusions:

• Abbott Alinity hq offers accurate platelet counting, unaffected by microcytosis.
• The Sysmex PLT-I method overestimates platelet counts in severe microcytosis.
• Alinity hq provides reliable platelet and RBC indices, crucial for accurate diagnosis in microcytic conditions.