[Evaluation of the performances of the "MUSE AUTO CD4/CD4%" flow cytometer vs "GUAVA AUTO CD4/CD4%" flow cytometer for measuring the rate of CD4 lymphocytes in patients infected with HIV in Cameroon].

Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate the performances of the MUSE flow cytometer compared with the reference GUAVA flow cytometer.

Methods: We conducted an experimental study on HIV-infected patient samples. Venous blood samples, collected in a K3 EDTA tube, were analyzed within 24-48 hours by MUSE and GUAVA cytometers at the International Center for medical diagnosis (Centre International de Diagnostic médical) in Yaoundé.

Results: In total, 227 samples were analyzed. There was a strong intraclass correlation (p<0.0001) between MUSE and GUAVA cytometers with a correlation coefficient 0.998 (95% CI: 0,998-0,999) for the absolute values and 0,992 (95% CI: 0,989-0,994) for the percentages. A strong positive linear correlation (p=0.0001) was found between MUSE and GUAVA cytometers with linear regression slope r2 = 0.98 (95% CI=0,97-0,99) for the absolute values and r2= 0.98 (95% CI= 0.96-1,00) for the percentages. The biases were -4,80 cells/µl (-101.31-91.71) for the absolute values and -0.89% (IC: -6,08-4.3) for the percentages. The percentage of data points outside the limits of agreement was 12/227 (5.29%) and 10/227 (4.41%) respectively for the absolute values and percentages. Cohen's kappa coefficient was 0.92 and the area under the curve was 0,9975 (CI 95%: 0.99-1).

Conclusion: MUSEAUTO CD4/CD4% cytometer is a powerful instrument because its results are consistent with those obtained by the reference cytometer. It can enable tracking of patients infected with HIV, in particular in the developing countries.