Article
Licensed
Unlicensed
Requires Authentication
Automated reticulocyte counting: state of the art and clinical applications in the evaluation of erythropoiesis
-
Elisa Piva
Published/Copyright:
July 29, 2010
Abstract
The reticulocyte count reflects the erythropoietic activity of the bone marrow and is thus useful in both the diagnosis of anemias and in monitoring bone marrow response to therapy. Starting in the mid-1990s, automated flow-cytometric analysis has replaced traditional microscopic quantitation of reticulocytes. Reticulocyte analysis now includes measurements mRNA content and the maturity of reticulocytes, cell volume, hemoglobin concentration and content. The immature reticulocyte fraction is a reliable early predictor of hematopoietic engraftment following allogeneic stem cell transplantation, while the reticulocyte hemoglobin content provides an indirect measure of the functional iron available for new red blood cell production over the previous 3–4 days. Especially in anemic newborns, reticulocyte analysis is useful to help clinicians follow erythropoietic changes, to monitor response to recombinant human erythropoietin therapy, to gauge transfusion needs, and to evaluate jaundice. Despite improved accuracy and precision, significant problems still persist in maintaining adequate levels of precision and comparability across different laboratories. In the absence of better laboratory standardization, having a single reference range for the parameters provided by flow-cytometric studies of reticulocytes remains problematic.
Clin Chem Lab Med 2010;48:1369–80.
Received: 2010-4-20
Accepted: 2010-5-18
Published Online: 2010-07-29
Published in Print: 2010-10-01
©2010 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin New York
You are currently not able to access this content.
You are currently not able to access this content.
Articles in the same Issue
- Editorial
- Darwinian evolution or regression? The fate of laboratory professionals
- Review
- Automated reticulocyte counting: state of the art and clinical applications in the evaluation of erythropoiesis
- Minireview
- Laboratory diagnostics in acute poisoning: critical overview
- Opinion Papers
- On the origins of physicians: Darwinian or Lamarckian evolution?
- Observed, unknown distributions of clinical chemical quantities should be considered to be log-normal: a proposal
- Guidelines and Recommendations
- Development and description of GETT: a Genetic testing Evidence Tracking Tool
- Genetics and Molecular Diagnostics
- DNA sequencing errors in molecular diagnostics of filamin myopathy
- High resolution melting for the identification of mutations in the iron responsive element of the ferritin light chain gene
- General Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine
- Detection of serum free light chains: the problem with antigen excess
- Hepcidin concentrations and iron homeostasis in preeclampsia
- Automated assay for non-transferrin-bound iron in serum samples
- A simple liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for urinary free cortisol analysis: suitable for routine purpose
- Evaluation of a multiplex assay for adipokine concentrations in obese children
- The use of serial patient blood gas, electrolyte and glucose results to derive biologic variation: a new tool to assess the acceptability of intensive care unit testing
- Point-of-care determination of neonatal bilirubin with the blood gas analyzer RapidLab 1265
- The effect of pre-analytical variables on light transmittance aggregometry in citrated platelet-rich plasma from healthy subjects
- Cancer Diagnostics
- Clinical significance of serum macrophage-colony stimulating factor (M-CSF) in esophageal cancer patients and its comparison with classical tumor markers
- VKORC1 haplotypes influence the performance characteristics of PIVKAII for screening of hepatocellular carcinoma
- Serum soluble tumour necrosis factor receptor type I concentrations independently predict prognosis in patients with breast cancer
- Variations in systemic biomarkers of oxidative/nitrosative stress and DNA damage before and during the consequent two cycles of chemotherapy in breast cancer patients
- Spurious increase in serum chromogranin A: the role of heterophilic antibodies
- Infectious Diseases
- Identification and evaluation of a new nucleic acid amplification test target for specific detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis
- Application of an oligonucleotide microarray-based nano-amplification technique for the detection of fungal pathogens
- Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for simultaneous quantification of four triazole antifungal agents in human plasma
- Evaluation of two sirolimus assays using the ARCHITECT-i1000® CMIA or RxL® ACMIA methods in comparison with the IMx® MEIA method
- Widespread use of point-of-care testing is irreconcilable with the present-day quest for safety
- Congress Abstracts
- 3rd Annual Congress of the Austrian Society for Laboratory Medicine and Clinical Chemistry Salzburg, Austria, 27-30 October 2010
Articles in the same Issue
- Editorial
- Darwinian evolution or regression? The fate of laboratory professionals
- Review
- Automated reticulocyte counting: state of the art and clinical applications in the evaluation of erythropoiesis
- Minireview
- Laboratory diagnostics in acute poisoning: critical overview
- Opinion Papers
- On the origins of physicians: Darwinian or Lamarckian evolution?
- Observed, unknown distributions of clinical chemical quantities should be considered to be log-normal: a proposal
- Guidelines and Recommendations
- Development and description of GETT: a Genetic testing Evidence Tracking Tool
- Genetics and Molecular Diagnostics
- DNA sequencing errors in molecular diagnostics of filamin myopathy
- High resolution melting for the identification of mutations in the iron responsive element of the ferritin light chain gene
- General Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine
- Detection of serum free light chains: the problem with antigen excess
- Hepcidin concentrations and iron homeostasis in preeclampsia
- Automated assay for non-transferrin-bound iron in serum samples
- A simple liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for urinary free cortisol analysis: suitable for routine purpose
- Evaluation of a multiplex assay for adipokine concentrations in obese children
- The use of serial patient blood gas, electrolyte and glucose results to derive biologic variation: a new tool to assess the acceptability of intensive care unit testing
- Point-of-care determination of neonatal bilirubin with the blood gas analyzer RapidLab 1265
- The effect of pre-analytical variables on light transmittance aggregometry in citrated platelet-rich plasma from healthy subjects
- Cancer Diagnostics
- Clinical significance of serum macrophage-colony stimulating factor (M-CSF) in esophageal cancer patients and its comparison with classical tumor markers
- VKORC1 haplotypes influence the performance characteristics of PIVKAII for screening of hepatocellular carcinoma
- Serum soluble tumour necrosis factor receptor type I concentrations independently predict prognosis in patients with breast cancer
- Variations in systemic biomarkers of oxidative/nitrosative stress and DNA damage before and during the consequent two cycles of chemotherapy in breast cancer patients
- Spurious increase in serum chromogranin A: the role of heterophilic antibodies
- Infectious Diseases
- Identification and evaluation of a new nucleic acid amplification test target for specific detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis
- Application of an oligonucleotide microarray-based nano-amplification technique for the detection of fungal pathogens
- Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for simultaneous quantification of four triazole antifungal agents in human plasma
- Evaluation of two sirolimus assays using the ARCHITECT-i1000® CMIA or RxL® ACMIA methods in comparison with the IMx® MEIA method
- Widespread use of point-of-care testing is irreconcilable with the present-day quest for safety
- Congress Abstracts
- 3rd Annual Congress of the Austrian Society for Laboratory Medicine and Clinical Chemistry Salzburg, Austria, 27-30 October 2010
