title: A comparison of total white blood cell counts on the Technicon H6000 and Coulter Counter Model ZBI in an occupational health program.
abstract: White blood cell (WBC) counts obtained using a Technicon H6000 in a large occupational health program were compared with counts obtained on identical samples using a Coulter Counter Model ZBI. To assure quality control and to assess the comparability of results obtained on the two machines, a 25% systematic sample (N = 586) of analyses performed on the Technicon were performed independently and blindly on the Coulter Counter. The Pearson product-moment-correlation between WBC counts from the two machines was r = 0.94 (P less than or equal to 0.0001). The mean WBC count was 6,664 cells/mm3 for the Technicon and 6,790 cells/mm3 for the Coulter Counter. The estimated prevalence of leukopenia (WBC counts less than or equal to 4,500 cells/mm3) was 10.6% using the Technicon and 9.7% using the Coulter Counter. The results demonstrate that the two machines provide results that can be compared directly without corrections.
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007958:Leukocyte Count / Q000295:instrumentation*; D009786:Occupational Health Services; D013997:Time Factors