Comparison of sysmex UF-5000 flow cytometer and fuchs-rosenthal chamber urine sediment analysis

Abstract

Urine analysis is a routine test performed in clinical practice. Urine sediment analysis is a part of urinalysis that provides precious information to laboratory professionals. Manual review is an application which is time-consuming, as it is the gold standard for analysis. In this study, it was aimed to compare urine sediment analysis performance of the Sysmex UF-5000 flow cytometer with the manual Fuchs-Rosenthal counting chamber. From outpatient clinics, a total of 127 fresh urine samples were analyzed. Sysmex UF-5000 fluorescence flow cytometer was used for urine analysis and Fuchs-Rosenthal counting chamber was used for urine sediment analysis. Two methods were compared using Pearson correlation coefficient (r), Passing-Bablok regression analysis and Bland-Altman plot. CLSI Statis-Pro software version 3.0, Microsoft Excel 2010 and Analyse-it software version 3.80 (Analyse-it Software, Ltd., Leeds, UK) were used. A good correlation was observed between automated and manual white blood cell (WBC) counts in 71 urine samples (r = 0.988; y = 1.162x + 0.489; n = 127). The UF-5000 showed a significant proportional overestimation with the Passing-Bablok regression (95% CI slope: 1.110 to 1.226). Correlation between the counting chamber and UF-5000 was observed in 77 samples for red blood cell (RBC) counts (r=0.996; y=1.1x+0.75). This study showed that flow cytometry urinalysis is a promising area compared to the manual reference method. Urine analyzer automation is commonly used in clinical laboratories all over the world and is effective in reducing report time and workload.