Evaluation of a point-of-care portable analyzer for measurement of plasma immunoglobulin G, total protein, and albumin concentrations in ill neonatal foals.

This research compared the accuracy of a point-of-care (POC) analyzer to established laboratory methods in measuring levels of immunoglobulin G, total protein, and albumin in the blood of newborn foals. While the POC analyzer was reasonably accurate for immunoglobulin G and total protein, it consistently overestimated the amounts of albumin, making it unsuitable for determining albumin levels in this context.

Objective of the Study

• This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a portable point-of-care (POC) analyzer in comparison to established laboratory methods in measuring plasma IgG, total protein, and albumin concentrations in neonatal foals.

Methods Employed

• For this evaluation study, 100 neonatal foals under seven days old were involved.
• The research team used the POC analyzer to measure the plasma IgG, total protein, and albumin concentrations; they used automated biochemical analyzers for the corresponding measurements as a comparison (standard methods).

Key Findings

• The sensitivity (true positive rate) and specificity (true negative rate) of the POC analyzer for detection of failure of passive transfer of immunity (FPTI) in foals were 80.7% and 100%, respectively, when FPTI was characterized by a plasma IgG concentration of less than 400 mg/dL.
• The values were 75.9% and 100% respectively, when FPTI was defined as a plasma IgG concentration less than 800 mg/dL.
• The POC analyzer overestimated the plasma albumin levels in comparison to the established lab methods and, to a lesser degree, also overestimated plasma total protein concentrations.

Conclusion

• The research concluded that while the POC analyzer had acceptable accuracy for measuring plasma IgG and total protein concentrations, it was not reliable for determining albumin concentrations.
• The POC analyzer showed a tendency to overestimate these values, making it unfit for clinical applications where accuracy in albumin measurement is required.
• Despite this caveat, the POC analyzer was deemed useful in providing timely measurements of plasma IgG concentrations, vital information needed to assess the passive transfer of maternal antibodies to neonatal foals.