[Evaluation of the dry chemical analysis system VetTest 8008]

Several metabolites, enzymes and electrolytes in serum samples of horses, cattle and dogs were analyzed in order to verify the applicability of the dry-reagent analytical system VetTest 8008. Electrolyte, substrate and enzyme determinations were performed. The precision within run and the precision within day of the VetTest 8008 were high. The coefficients of variation ranged from 1.2 to 5.1%, with the exception of bilirubin (5.7%), ALAT (25.4%) and GGT (6.7%). The reason for these three high variation coefficients is the low concentration or activity of the used horse serum. The comparative analysis of patient samples with routine methods and multilayer reagent carriers showed good agreement. The linear coefficients of correlation were 0.909 for albumin in bovine sera, 0.828 for calcium in canine sera and ranged from 0.925 to 0.999 for the 14 other components. The VetTest 8008 is easy to use and has been proved to be reliable and accurate. The system is well suited for use in veterinary practice.