Korean J Hematol.  2009 Dec;44(4):237-243. 10.5045/kjh.2009.44.4.237.

Comparison of Blood Counts in Capillary and Venous Blood in Children

• Kim MJ
• Jin JH
• Kwon YS
• Jun YH
• Kim SK

• KMID: 2252102
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5045/kjh.2009.44.4.237

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Obtaining a venous blood sample from infants and children can be a painful and traumatic procedure. It has been suggested that capillary blood samples can serve as substitutes for venous blood samples to diagnose anemia. However, few data exist about the correlation between the laboratory results obtained using capillary and venous blood samples. This study was performed to determine if the results from the LC-178CRP(TM) are the same as the results from a conventional hematology analyzer using venous blood. METHODS: After informed consent was obtained, paired venous and capillary blood sample were collected simultaneously from 104 children (M : F=50 : 54). The capillary blood was analyzed using the LC-178CRP(TM), and venous blood was analyzed using an automatic hematology analyzer. The following were compared from capillary and venous samples: CBC, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), red cell distribution width (RDW), and platelet count. The results were analyzed by Pearson's correlation and the Bland Altman Plot method. RESULTS: The hemoglobin values were similar between the two groups of samples and had a high coefficient correlation (r=0.877). White blood cells, hematocrit, MCV, and MCH also had a significant correlation between capillary and venous blood samples. Based on the Bland-Altman method, the agreement between the two methods was considered good. CONCLUSION: The hematologic results from the capillary blood had a close correlation with the conventional venous method, including white blood cell count, and hemoglobin, MCV, and MCH levels. The LC-178CRPtrade mark should be considered as an alternative for venous blood sampling for the tested parameters in children.

Keyword

Vessel; Blood; Hemoglobin; Hematocrit; Erythrocyte indices

MeSH Terms

Anemia
Capillaries
Child
Erythrocyte Indices
Glycosaminoglycans
Hematocrit
Hematology
Hemoglobins
Humans
Infant
Informed Consent
Leukocyte Count
Leukocytes
Platelet Count
Glycosaminoglycans
Hemoglobins

Figure

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  Fig. 1. Correlation and linearity in HGB.

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  Fig. 2. Correlation and linearity in MCV.

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  Fig. 3. Correlation and linearity in MCH.

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  Fig. 4. Differences against mean for white blood cells by Bland Altman plot.

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  Fig. 5. Differences against mean for RBC data by Bland Altman plot.

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  Fig. 6. Differences against mean for HGB data by Bland Altman plot.

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  Fig. 7. Differences against mean for HCT data by Bland Altman plot.

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  Fig. 8. Differences against mean for MCV data by Bland Altman plot.

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  Fig. 9. Differences against mean for MCH data by Bland Altman plot.

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  Fig. 10. Differences against mean for PLT data by Bland Altman plot.

Reference

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