Abstract
Objective—To determine accuracy and precision of a point-of-care hemoglobinometer for measuring hemoglobin concentration and estimating PCV in horses.
Design—Prospective trial.
Animals—55 horses.
Procedure—Blood samples were obtained from 43 horses examined at a veterinary teaching hospital. Hemoglobin concentration was measured with the hemoglobinometer and by means of the standard cyanmethemoglobin method; PCV was measured by centrifugation. Blood samples were also obtained from 12 healthy horses, and PCV of aliquots of these samples was altered to approximately 5 to 80% by removing or adding plasma. Hemoglobin concentration and PCV were then measured.
Results—For samples from the clinic patients, hemoglobin concentrations obtained with the hemoglobinometer were less than concentrations obtained with the cyanmethemoglobin method; however, there was a linear relationship between concentrations obtained with the 2 methods. Breed, sex, body weight, and duration of sample storage did not significantly affect the difference between hemoglobin concentrations obtained with the 2 methods. There was a significant linear relationship between PCV and hemoglobinometer hemoglobin concentration (PCV = [2.83 X hemoglobin concentration] − 0.62). For samples from the healthy horses, a substantial negative bias was evident with the hemoglobinometer when hemoglobin concentration exceeded 16 g/dL.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Results suggest that this hemoglobinometer is reasonably accurate and precise when used to measure hemoglobin concentration in blood samples from horses with a hemoglobin concentration < 16 g/dL. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 2003;223:78–83)
