ABSTRACT
Background@#The Sysmex DI-60 system (Sysmex, Japan) is an automated cell image analyzer. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of the DI-60 system for the differential analysis of leukocytes. @*Methods@#A total of 220 samples were analyzed in this study. The agreement between DI-60 pre-classification and manual verification by experts was determined. The correlation between the differential leukocyte counts obtained using the DI-60 system and those manually obtained in the peripheral blood smears were determined. @*Results@#The pre-classification agreement of DI-60 was 91.0%. The correlation coefficients of normal five-part differentials were 0.9163 (segmented neutrophils), 0.9017 (lymphocytes), 0.8533 (monocytes), 0.8345 (eosinophils), and 0.3505 (basophils). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and the efficiency of counting the abnormal cells, including blasts, promyelocytes, myelocytes, metamyelocytes, lymphocyte variants, and erythroblasts, were determined. The efficiency of the DI-60 system in counting the blasts, promyelocytes, myelocytes, metamyelocytes, lymphocyte variants, and erythroblasts was 99.5%, 100.0%, 95.9%, 96.5%, 98.6%, 100.0%, and 95.9%, respectively. @*Conclusions@#The pre-classification agreement of DI-60 was higher than that of previous studies. The correlation between the differential leukocyte counts obtained with the DI-60 system and those of manual counting was acceptable. The performance of DI-60 as a screening tool in clinical laboratories may be good; however, it is yet to replace manual slide review.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Cumulative blood culture data provide clinicians with important information in the selection of empiric therapy for blood stream infections. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed blood culture data from a university hospital during the period from 2006 to 2015. Only the initial isolates of a given species for each patient were included. RESULTS: The number of blood cultures per 1,000 inpatient-days increased from 64 in 2006 to 117 in 2015. The ratio of significant pathogens to total isolates was 0.56-0.63. The most common organisms were Escherichia coli in 2006-2010 but changed to coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) in 2011. The proportion of Staphylococci aureus was decreased during the study period, but Klebsiella pneumoniae was increased. Enterococci were increased, especially E. faecium, which was more frequently isolated than E. faecalis in 2015. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was decreased during the study, but Acinetobacter baumannii was increased. The prevalence of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) changed from 62.2% to 53.9%, while vancomycin-resistant E. faecium increased to 35.8%. Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing E. coli and K. pneumoniae increased to 25% and 34%, respectively, in 2015. Starting in 2008, three E. coli and 11 K. pneumoniae isolates were carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), and three were carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE). The prevalence of imipenem-resistant A. baumannii rapidly increased during the study period. CONCLUSION: About 60% of all blood isolates were significant pathogens. The most common isolates changed from E. coli to CoNS in 2011. ESBL-producing E. coli and K. pneumoniae, vancomycin-resistant E. faecium, and imipenem-resistant A. baumannii were increased during the study, while the proportion of MRSA tended to decrease slightly. Of the total isolates, 14 were CRE, and 3 were CPE.