A SHORT EVALUATION OF A NEW HEMATOLOGICAL ANALYZER - THE COBAS ARGOS 5-DIFF

In order to evaluate the Cobas Argos 5 Diff, a five-part differential haematological analyser, we performed a comparative study using our cu rrent analyser, the Toa E-5000, and the manual leukocyte differential. Samples (n = 593) were collected from various departments in our hosp ital and were tested on both Cobas Argos 5 Diff and Toa E-5000. Regres sion lines were calculated for all standard haematological quantities. A group of 100 samples, including 50 negative (absence of flags) and 50 positive (presence of flags), on the Cobas Argos 5 Diff were random ly selected from the above-mentioned collection. All these samples had been checked under the microscope by two persons counting 200 cells e ach. The comparison of standard haematological quantities between Coba s Argos 5 Diff and the Toa E-5000 shows good correlation: Red Blood Ce lls r = 0.993; White Blood Cells r = 0.998; Haemoglobin r = 0.989; Hae matocrit r = 0.982; Thrombocytes r = 0.988; Lymphocytes (%) r = 0.983, Neutrophils (%) r = 0.959. The correlation between Cobas Argos 5 Diff and the manual leukocyte differential shows good correlation for lymp hocytes and neutrophils, with acceptable correlation for eosinophils. The correlation for basophils and monocytes was less acceptable, espec ially for normal samples. We conclude that the efficiency of the Cobas Argos 5 Diff is good (93%) and that it is a suitable haematological c ell analyser.