December 2023
The International Council for Standardisation in Haematology is pleased to announce the publication of a new report of the ICSH working group for Standardization of Reticulocyte Parameters
The ICSH Working Group Contributors
Amrom E. Obstfeld | Bruce H. Davis | Jin-Yeong Han | Eloisa Urrechaga
Abstract
Introduction: The International Council for Standardization in Haematology
convened a working group to assess and propose improvements upon the state of
standardization and harmonization of reticulocyte parameters among commercial
hematology analyzers.
Methods: An international group of laboratory hematologists prospectively collected
and analyzed clinical samples using locally available IVD commercial hematology analyzers. Eight hundred and fifty-five total samples were collected at 6 sites using 9 distinct analyzer types. Samples were assessed for reticulocyte percent (RET%),
immature reticulocyte fraction (IRF), and reticulocyte hemoglobin content (RHC).
Method comparison and regression statistics were calculated. These analyses were
used to determine whether statistical recalibration offered a potential avenue for
increasing comparability between these methods.
Results: While methods producing reticulocyte percent were the most comparable in
this study, the state of harmonization for the IRF and RHC was reduced with pearson
correlation coefficients ranging from 0.955 to 0.77 and 0.927 and 0.680, respectively. Nevertheless, use of parameters from the Passing Bablok regression substantially improved the comparability of the results. In addition, precision data was
derived which also demonstrated substantial differences between analyzer systems.
Conclusion: While reticulocyte counting is correlated between the automated
methods evaluated in this study, the current state of harmonization of other reticulocyte parameters is not as strong. A major challenge in moving this field forward is the
need for commutable materials to facilitate comparisons between analyzers not
co-located. A potential alternate approach to improve the current state would be
instrument re-calibration. However, this is challenging both technically and due to
national regulatory frameworks.
....continue reading at Wiley Online Library - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ijlh.14209
First published: 06 December 2023
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