Evaluation of a portable clinical analyzer in a veterinary hospital setting.

The research assesses the accuracy and reliability of a portable clinical analyzer for blood testing in a veterinary hospital. The researchers compared the results obtained from this device to those of standard laboratory instruments and found that the portable analyzer generally produced comparable results, suggesting it’s a potentially valuable tool for point-of-care testing and for settings where extended laboratory support might be lacking.

Methods and Subjects

• The research was a prospective study in which 50 dogs, 50 cats, and 28 horses were tested. All animals were in a clinically normal state at the time of testing.
• Blood samples from these animals were analyzed using a portable clinical analyzer to determine levels of several substances and elements including sodium, potassium, chloride, Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN), glucose, ionized calcium. Hematocrit (Hct), pH, carbon dioxide (PCO2), and oxygen (PO2) were also measured.
• The results of these tests were then compared against those obtained from the same samples but analyzed using standard laboratory instruments: an automatic analyzer for measuring serum substances, a cell counter for Hct, a blood gas analyzer, and a calcium-pH analyzer.

Results and Findings

• Findings from the portable clinical analyzer showed a high correlation (> 0.90) to standard lab results for everything except potassium and ionized calcium levels.
• The bias, which refers to the mean difference between values obtained by different methods, and variability (standard deviation of differences) were found to be within clinically acceptable limits for all factors except for potassium, ionized calcium, and glucose concentrations, as well as Hct.
• Researchers observed some degree of species-dependent variability for glucose concentration and Hct values, indicating that these may be influenced by different animal species.

Conclusions and Implications

• The analysis found that most differences between the portable analyzer and standard lab systems were caused by the type of sample tested (blood vs. serum).
• Given these findings, the researchers concluded that the portable clinical analyzer could be a suitable tool for point-of-care analysis in acute care situations or during routine blood biochemical analysis when extensive laboratory support is not available.