High erythrocyte water content causes discrepancy between values of automated and micro-centrifuged haematocrit.
Erythrocyte water content, micro-haematocrit (micro-Hct) and haematocrit (Hct) as derived by Coulter Counter were determined on 41 subjects. Significant discrepancies were observed between manual and automated Hct which could not be explained by abnormal red cell morphology and abnormal plasma osmolality, but appeared to be related to high erythrocyte water content (r = 0.54, p less than 0.001). As human ageing is associated with increased erythrocyte water content, these results question the reliability of Hct readings in the elderly. Further studies need to be performed to evaluate which estimation of Hct should be applied for subjects with high erythrocyte cell water.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001322:Autoanalysis; D002498:Centrifugation; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D006400:Hematocrit / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D012016:Reference Values; D014867:Water / Q000378:metabolism*
D014867:Water