ABSTRACT
Analysis of urine represents a basic test in the diagnostic battery for most of the systemic disorders and renal diseases in particular. Significant informations can be obtained by urinalysis as many disease processes invariably display urinary abnormalities. It offers a simple, often quick way of following response to treatment in these diseases, without putting the patient under much distress. For urinalysis to be maximally useful as a diagnostic tool, attention to details is necessary in the methodology of urine collection, timely sample processing and most importantly, a thorough knowledge on the various abnormalities that can be detected during the analysis. This article is a comprehensive review on urinalysis, including the intricacies of sample collection, various normal and abnormal physical and chemical parameters with an emphasis on the importance of a meticulous microscopic examination of urine sample to arrive at a diagnosis.
ABSTRACT
Background: Hemoglobin (Hb) estimation is one of the most frequently ordered investigations. Estimation of exact levels is important to stratify the grade of anemia and subsequently direct the necessary treatment. Conventionally, Hb has been estimated using colorimetric method, which is time tested and recommended by the WHO. Now-a-days, the automated method is also becoming a popular method in many hospitals. However, there are not many studies assessing the accuracy of the automated method over the gold standard. Materials and methods: We retrospectively analyzed hemoglobin values in 180 adult patient-samples (18 per batch in 10 batches). Hemolyzed samples were excluded from the study. Blood samples were drawn in vials having K3 EDTA anticoagulants. After a proper mixing, hemoglobin was estimated by automated Sysmex XS-800i. Parallel estimation for Hb content was done manually by spectrophotometer 4010. Results: Patients ranged from ages 20 to 40 years (M:F=102:78). The lowest value recorded by Sysmex XS-800i was 5.8 while the highest value recorded was 18.6 gm%. The mean hemoglobin concentration on Sysmex XS-800i was 12.89. The lowest, highest and mean values recorded by the cyanmethemoglobin method on photometer were 5, 18 and 13.49 gm% respectively. This showed a mean difference of 0.597 and with significant p-value of <0.001. Conclusion: The lowest values of Hb were similar in both the methods but the mean as well as the highest values differed significantly. Our study found an accuracy of 95.57% with the 5 part analyzer when compared to the gold standard colorimetric method.