Evaluation of Sight Olo Haematology Analyser for Pandemic Use

Introduction: During the early COVID-19 pandemic period in 2020, the laboratory evaluated Sight OLO haematology analyser as a dedicated instrument for infectious specimens. The Sight OLO analyser is compact, reliable and capable of self-contained waste production to limit biological waste exposure. The instrument can be used in isolation wards, Biosafety Level 3 laboratories or in smaller laboratories. A comparative study is conducted between Sight OLO and Sysmex XN-10 analyser, the blood count analyser used in the main laboratory. Method(s): There were two phases of study. Phase one evaluation was conducted on the haematology bench and Phase two evaluation inside a Biosafety cabinet (BSC). A comparative study is conducted using 40 normal and abnormal K2EDTA samples for each phase. Precision study was conducted using control materials provided by the manufacturer. Sensitivity and specificity studies were also conducted using 100 K2EDTA samples. Result(s): The blood count results of Phase 1 and Phase 2 on Sight OLO demonstrated good concordance with Sysmex XN-10. High agreement between Sight OLO and Sysmex XN- 10 was reflected in the results of regression analysis. The correlation value of FBC parameters ranged from 0.90 to 0.99. The Sight OLO is capable of detecting the presence of blast cells, nucleated RBCs, platelet clumps, atypical lymphocytes, immature granulocytes and platelet abnormal distribution. Conclusion(s): The study demonstrated that the performance of Sight OLO is comparable to Sysmex XN-10 hematology analyser. The instrument has a high potential use in small laboratories for pandemic sample testing or in institutions with limited space and resources.

An assessment of emergency department visits for cardiovascular diseases in the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in Istanbul

Objectives: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has had a severe impact with an excess of one hundred million cases and over two million deaths worldwide. Countries have adopted different paths toward 'flattening the curve';however, many countries observed a common trend of people avoiding emergency departments (ED) for varying reasons. This study aims to investigate the ED utilization patterns of patients with cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in the early phases of COVID-19 in Istanbul, Turkey.