Comparison of Automated and Manual Reticulocyte Count in a cohort of patient’s samples in Haematology Laboratory of Colombo South Teaching Hospital, Sri Lanka

Background: The reticulocyte count represents the marrow erythroid activity and it is a very important diagnostic tool in disorders of erythropoiesis. Reticulocyte count estimation is performed manually or using automated analyzers, depending on the laboratory facilities. This study aims to compare automated and manual reticulocyte count methods and to determine, whether there is a significant variance between the results of the two techniques.

Materials and method: Sixty-five EDTA blood samples were collected from patients who were seen at the Colombo South Teaching Hospital (CSTH) for routine reticulocyte count. Automated reticulocyte count was obtained from a Mindry BC-6800 automated analyzer and the manual reticulocyte count was performed using new Methylene blue as the supra-vital stain. Statistical analysis was done by correlation analysis and paired sample t-test using SPSS software.

Results: The mean value of the automated reticulocyte count is 3.3724% and the manual reticulocyte count is 3.3500%. There is a strong positive correlation between the automated reading and the manual reading with r= 0.982 and p=0.01. According to the results of the paired sample t-test, there is no significant difference between the automated reading and the manual reading (at a 5% level of significance).

Conclusion: There is no significant variance between automated and manual reticulocyte count. Therefore, both methods apply to performing reticulocyte counts depending on laboratory facilities and necessity. This finding is useful as many resource-poor laboratories still depend on the manual count in many peripheral areas of the country and worldwide.