Overview on Hereditary Spherocytosis Diagnosis.

Introduction: Hereditary spherocytosis (HS) is a congenital haemolytic disorder, resulting from plasma membrane protein deficiency of red blood cells (RBCs). Typical pathological signs are anemia, jaundice, and splenomegaly; in newborns, jaundice is the main symptom.

Material And Methods: This study focused on the state of art about the HS diagnosis, from traditional to innovative methods, including diagnostic algorithms that can be applied for pediatric and adult patients, for different laboratory diagnostic levels.

Reticulated platelets and immature platelet fraction: Clinical applications and method limitations.

So-called "reticulated" or "immature platelets," which are newly released into the circulation, are more reactive than mature platelets, contain more RNA, and can be counted using flow cytometry after staining with thiazole orange or using some fully automated hematology analyzers, albeit with numerical disagreement. This review provides an overview of the state of the art of available technology for measuring immature or reticulated platelets (RP) with preanalytical (time stability, biological variation), analytical (methods, imprecision), and postanalytical (reference range) limitations. We also analyzed the clinical conditions in which immature/RP can be considered a diagnostic or prognostic tool (ie, differential diagnosis of thrombocytopenia, recovery after bone marrow or stem cell transplantation, risk assessment in cardiovascular diseases, response to antiplatelet drugs).

Effect of preanalytical and analytical variables on the clinical utility of mean platelet volume.

Background: The study endpoint was to analyze the effect of preanalytical (time, temperature, anticoagulant) and analytical (imprecision, correlation between volume and platelet concentration) variables on mean platelet volume (MPV). A further aim was to calculate in an adult population the reference intervals using the Sysmex XE-5000 analyzer. A critical evaluation was also made of the clinical utility of these parameters.

Reticulocyte count and extended reticulocyte parameters by Mindray BC-6800: Reference intervals and comparison with Sysmex XE-5000.

Introduction: In this study, analytic performance (imprecision, carryover, time stability) and diagnostic efficiency of Mindray BC-6800 analyzer to quantify reticulocytes and extended reticulocyte parameters was evaluated. Moreover, reference intervals on adult population were determined. Results were compared with those obtained by Sysmex XE-5000 analyzer.

Evaluation of the hypochromic erythrocyte and reticulocyte hemoglobin content provided by the Sysmex XE-5000 analyzer in diagnosis of iron deficiency erythropoiesis.

Background: Iron deficiency represents the most frequent cause of anemia. To diagnose iron deficiency some biochemical tests such as serum ferritin and the transferring saturation percent (TSAT%) are usually used. Recently, some hematological parameters such as mean reticulocyte hemoglobin content (CHr or Ret-He) and percentage of hypochromic RBCs (Hypo% or %Hypo-He) were proposed as alternative to biochemical tests.