Feasibility of Counting Smudge Cells as Lymphocytes in Differential Leukocyte Counts Performed on Blood Smears of Patients With Established or Suspected Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia/Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma.

Background: Lymphocytosis and smudge cells are commonly observed on the blood smears of patients with an established or suspected diagnosis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma. Excluding smudge cells from the manual differential count (MDIFF), a common laboratory practice, yields unreliable results and consequently necessitates performing the MDIFF testing on an albuminized blood smear.

Objective: To assess the reliability of counting smudge cells as lymphocytes in the MDIFFs on nonalbuminized smears and automated differentials (ADIFFs) as a substitute for MDIFFs.

The utility of BRAF V600E mutation-specific antibody VE1 for the diagnosis of hairy cell leukemia.

Objectives: BRAF V600E mutation is characteristic of hairy cell leukemia (HCL). A V600E mutation-specific antibody, VE1, has been recently developed. We studied the diagnostic utility of this antibody in HCL and compared it with other B-cell neoplasms.