An evaluation of the performance of sysmex XE-2100 in enumerating nucleated red cells in peripheral blood

Abstract Context.—Automated methods of enumerating nucleated red blood cells (NRBCs) in blood are gaining acceptance in many laboratories. Objective.—To evaluate the performance of Sysmex XE-2100 in enumerating NRBCs in peripheral blood. Design.—Automated relative number of NRBCs per 100 white blood cells (NRBC%) results for a total of 460 specimens run on the XE-2100 were compared with manual NRBC% results obtained by performing a 100-cell differential on a Wright-stained smear prepared from each specimen. To assess within-day reproducibility, 64 specimens were rerun on the XE-2100, and a second 100-cell differential was performed on the original blood smear. Excel software was used for data analysis. Results.—Regression analysis of automated NRBC% versus manual NRBC% yielded a correlation coefficient of 0.9712. No NRBCs were seen in the blood smear on 35 (15.1%) of 232 specimens with automated NRBC% of 0.1 to 1.9. The XE-2100 generated an NRBC% of 0.0 on 5 (6.8%) of 74 specimens, revealing 1 NRBC per 10...