The Difference in the Number of Platelets Calculated by the Indirect Method (Fonio) and a Hematology Analyzer

Abstract

Platelet count checks are one of the most requested tests in clinical laboratories because of their important role in helping to establish a diagnosis. Hematology Analyzer has many advantages, namely practical, fast, and reliable in treating large numbers of patients. However, because the automated method is expensive and has low yields due to the inability to read the sticky platelets. Therefore, we still use the manual edge blood swab method as a control in calculating the number of platelets This study aims to compare the results of the examination of platelet count using the Indirect Fonio indirect manual method  with the automatic method using the Hematology Analyzer tool. This type of research is observational analytics with a cross-sectional design. The research subjects amounted to 36 respondents. The results showed that the average number of platelets obtained with  the Indirect Fonio method was 290,389 μL, while with the Hematology Analyzer method  it was 331,222 μL. The results of data analysis using the Independent T-test showed a significance value of 0.014 (p<0.05), which means that there is a significant difference between the two examination methods. Thus, it can be concluded that there is a difference in the results of counting platelet counts between  the manual method of Indirect Fonio and the automatic method of Hematology Analyzer. It is recommended that the next research on sample handling procedures, especially at the pre-analytical stage such as the blood collection and shuffling process, be carried out in accordance with operational standards to prevent platelet aggregation that can interfere with the accuracy of the results.