Paediatric, age-specific reference intervals for reticulocyte count on Abbotts Alinity hq platform

Area of Science:

• Clinical Chemistry
• Paediatric Haematology

Background:

• Accurate haematological analysis in children requires specific paediatric reference intervals.
• Paediatric reference intervals for reticulocyte count are lacking for Abbott platforms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish paediatric reference intervals for reticulocyte count using Abbott's Alinity hq platform.
• To provide essential data for interpreting reticulocyte counts in children up to 18 years old.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a data-mining approach on reticulocyte counts from Abbott's Alinity hq platform.
• Included samples from 'healthiest patients' with normal haemoglobin and single reticulocyte counts (n=1633).
• Data extracted from July 2021 to November 2024.

Main Results:

• Established reference intervals for the first week of life (0-<7 days): 74-442 *10^9/L.
• Established reference intervals for children aged 7 days to 18 years: 32-115 *10^9/L.
• Observed higher reticulocyte counts compared to other platforms, consistent with adult data on Abbott platforms.

Conclusions:

• This is the first study to report paediatric reticulocyte count reference intervals on an Abbott platform.
• The established intervals are higher than those reported on other platforms.
• These findings support clinical decision-making for laboratories using the Alinity hq platform.