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Is manual cell counting in CSF specimens a thing of the past?

Cerebrospinal fluid cell counts performed using haemocytometer chamber methods are prone to high interobserver variability and poor reproducibility. Utilising an automated system minimises errors and simplifies the testing process.

The accuracy of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cell counts is critical in clinical practice. Bristol Royal Infirmary has implemented the GloCyte Automated Cell Counter for CSF because it is the only reliable automated CSF cell counter solution available for budget-constrained hospitals, explains Alexander Macphie, Senior Biomedical Scientist in Haematology, University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust.

Do you have an example of the impact of inaccurate CSF cell counts?

Alexander Macphie: The biggest issue we had was with paediatric patients; there were a lot of complaints because the children on certain medical trials didn’t get their results for a long period of time. The problem we found with the machines we were using was that we were giving inaccurate counts because paediatric patients’ white cells couldn’t be detected accurately at the lower end.

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