Analysis of canine and feline blood samples using the Kuadro in-house wet-reagent chemistry analyser.

OBJECTIVES

Kuadro is a new wet-reagent biochemistry analyser that is available for in-house use. The aim of this study was to compare the results produced by this analyser with those obtained by a wet-reagent analyser (KoneLab 30i) that served as the reference instrument.

METHODS

Blood samples from 80 clinical cases (40 dogs and 40 cats) were analysed for urea, creatinine, total proteins, albumin, glucose, cholesterol, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, total bilirubin, amylase, total calcium, and phosphate using both the reference and Kuadro instruments.

RESULTS

Kuadro performed very well on canine and feline samples, showing clinically acceptable correlations (r value) (canine/feline) for urea (0.99/0.97), creatinine (0.99/0.98), total proteins (0.95/0.97), albumin (0.98/0.90), glucose (0.99/0.99), cholesterol (0.99/0.99), alanine aminotransferase (1.00/0.99), alkaline phosphatase (0.96/0.99), total bilirubin (1.00/1.00), amylase (0.98/0.96), and phosphate (0.91/0.92). The correlation for total calcium measurements was clinically unacceptable (0.78/0.83).

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE

Urea, creatinine, albumin, glucose, cholesterol, alanine aminotransferase, and phosphate Kuadro values can be used interchangeably with those generated by the reference analyser. Alkaline phosphatase, amylase, and total proteins Kuadro values cannot be used interchangeably, as Kuadro overestimated alkaline phosphatase and amylase and underestimated total protein measurements. Kuadro significantly underestimated total calcium concentrations due to the shorter incubation time used by the Kuadro analyser compared with the incubation time used in the reference analyser assay system.