Evaluation of three methods for measurement of hemoglobin and calculated hemoglobin parameters with the ADVIA 2120 and ADVIA 120 in dogs, cats, and horses.

The research article focuses on evaluating the effectiveness and comparability of three methods of hemoglobin (HGB) measurement in blood samples from dogs, cats, and horses using two specific machines: ADVIA 2120 and ADVIA 120. The researchers aim to find out whether a new cyanide-free method of hemoglobin measurement, previously not tested on animals, shows an equivalent performance to established methods.

Methods Used

• The researchers used fresh blood samples from 119 dogs, 113 cats, and 151 horses collected by the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences at Justus-Liebig University Giessen.
• Complete blood counts (CBCs) were performed on all samples using both the ADVIA 2120 and ADVIA 120.
• The two main methods of measuring hemoglobin – colorimetric and cellular – were compared along with all calculations derived from the HGB measurement.
• The comparison assessment used linear regression, Passing Bablok regression, and Bland Altman plots, using the ADVIA 120 method as a reference.

Findings

• Results showed excellent correlation between hemoglobin levels measured by colorimetric methods (r=0.99).
• However, the cyanide-free method of measuring hemoglobin used by the ADVIA 2120 showed overestimation when compared to the cyanide-based method used by the ADVIA 120.
• There was an average proportional bias of -21.0% (dog), -22.0% (cat), and -19.4% (horse).
• The cell-based hemoglobin concentration between the two machines also showed a strong correlation (r=0.99), but with higher levels of variation than the colorimetric methods.
• All calculated variables showed a range from excellent to fair agreement.

Conclusions

• The researchers concluded that the cyanide-free method is suitable for animal blood samples, provided the proportional bias is taken into account.
• Although the results show overestimation, the high correlation suggests that it can be a viable alternative once the proportional bias is factored in.