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Spurious elevated platelet counts associated with bacteremia.

E S Gloster, R A Strauss, J F Jimenez

American Journal of Hematology

|March 1, 1985

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

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Bacteremia can cause falsely high automated platelet counts. Bacteria in blood samples interfere with laser optical counters, leading to inaccurate results.

Area of Science:

Hematology
Clinical Pathology
Medical Laboratory Science

Background:

Automated blood cell counters are crucial for accurate platelet counts.
In vivo bacteremia is a serious condition requiring prompt diagnosis.
Artifacts in automated counts can lead to misdiagnosis and delayed treatment.

Observation:

Two patients presented with bacteremia caused by Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae.
Bacteria were observed on peripheral blood smears in both cases.
Automated platelet counts were spuriously elevated in these patients.

Findings:

The presence of bacteria in vivo led to falsely elevated platelet counts.
The Ortho ELT-8 laser optical counter generated these spurious results.

Related Experiment Videos

This represents a previously unreported artifact in automated hematology.

Implications:

Clinicians must be aware of potential artifacts in automated platelet counts during bacteremia.
Microscopic examination of blood smears is essential to confirm automated findings.
This highlights the need for critical evaluation of automated cell counter results in infectious states.