INTRODUCTIONPeripheral blood smear (PBS) examination is a part of the routine work of every laboratory. The manual examination of these images is tedious, time consuming and suffers from interobserver variation. This has motivated researchers to develop different algorithms and methods to automate PBS image analysis. The automated hematology analyzers give more accurate and <1% coefficient of variation for the RBC indices and hence have replaced the manual methods. Thus we can definitely conclude that the hematology analyzers definitely have a potential to replace peripheral blood smear examination. 1The expertise needed to see the PBS is definitely far more than that needed to run the analyzers. Moreover there is intra and inter observer variation in morphological typing of anemia based on PBS examination. The additional PBS review performed by hematologist hardly ever provided unique information and provided incremental helpful information in only 4% of the cases. Cell counting with these instruments is rapid, objective, statistically significant (8000 or more cells are counted) and not subject to the distributional bias of the manual count. Hence automated instruments increase accuracy, speed of analysis, minimizes levels of human manipulation for test entry, sampling, sample dilution and ABSTRACT Background:The aims and objectives of present study was to correlate typing of anemia based on RBC indices obtained from an automated analyzer with peripheral blood smear (PBS) examination and also to find out whether the number of PBS examination can be reduced with the help of automated hematology analyzer. Methods: A total of 2500 blood samples showing anemia as per WHO reference range were collected in central pathology lab of SVBP Hospital attached to L.L.R.M. Medical College, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India over a period of one year. Samples were reported by auto-analyzer and PBS examination simultaneously. Results: Out of total 2500 cases, there were 1623 females (64.9%) and 877 males (35.1%) with male: female ratio 0.54:1. By auto-analyzer and PBS examination, MCHC anemia (49.8%) was the commonest anemia followed by NCNC anemia (36.5%) and Macrocytic anemia (4.2%). Discordant typing of anemia between two methods was found in 284 (11.4%) cases only. These cases were diagnosed as normocytic normochromic (NCNC) anemia with raised RDW by autoanalyzer while as Dimorphic Anemia (DA) on PBS examination. Also morphological changes such as RBC inclusions, spherocytes, RBC fragments, schistocytes, nucleated RBCs were seen only on PBS examination. Conclusions: The Study concluded that even today PBS examination is very important and cannot be totally replaced by automated analyzer and both methods are complementary to each other.

Pseudotumour or tumor like proliferation ( non-neoplastic mass )

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract