title: Accuracy of microcentrifuged hematocrits in the emergency department.
abstract: This study tests whether hematocrits (Hcts) can be accurately measured in an emergency department by microcentrifuge technique. Prior to obtaining the results of a laboratory Hct (LAB Hct), microcentrifuged Hcts (MC Hcts) were determined on 204 emergency department patients. The average difference for LAB Hct--MC Hct was -0.539 +/- 1.64 (SD). The 95% confidence interval was (-0.76, -0.31) for the difference scores and (1.49, 1.81) for the SD. The two techniques had excellent correlation (r = 0.96). Plotting the MC Hct against the LAB Hct produced a line of best fit that essentially passed through the origin (Y intercept = 0.31) and had a slope of 1.006 (both t's < 1). When only the Hct is desired, MC Hcts can be performed in place of LAB Hcts without compromising accuracy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Albany Medical College, New York 12208.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Bartfield
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lekas
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015982:Bias; D002498:Centrifugation / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D006400:Hematocrit / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007755:Laboratories, Hospital; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results