An alternate proficiency testing tool for a point of care hemoglobinometer: Hemocue

Abstract

Background: Pre-donation hemoglobin screening, to determine donor fitness, can be done via different modalities [from crude copper sulphate solutions to point-of-care (POC) hemoglobinometers to automated cell counters]. Primary aim of the study was to develop and implement strategies for quality control for a Hemocue (a POC device) for the pre – donation hemoglobin screening. Materials and Methods: A prospective observational study was done in properly stored 200 EDTA samples from April 2020 to October 2020. Daily two samples were analyzed using Hemocue and Automated hematology analyzer (Sysmex XN- 550) and compared by plotting their differences on Levey-Jennings (LJ) charts. Results: 100 samples were >12.5gm/dL and 100 samples were 12.5, 13.7± 0.75 for hemocue > 12.5 and 11.13 ± 0.96 for sysmex < 12.5, 11.37 ± 0.97 for hemocue < 12. No major outliers (differences outside 2 SD) were found in the LJ Plots. Conclusion: Sample rerun could be used as a safer alternative to running costly commercial controls for screening of donor with POC hemoglobinometers.