Vol. 7, Issue 3, Part B (2024)

Background: As one of the most prevalent disorders in our culture, an accurate diagnosis of anemia is critical to a positive clinical outcome. Morphological typing of anemia is aided by complete blood counts and automated cell counter-generated red blood cell parameters. However, it is still necessary to examine peripheral blood smears in order to determine the etiology of anemia.

Aims and Objectives: The current study compared the results of the two approaches in order to diagnose the type of anemia by analyzing peripheral blood smear and red cell parameters generated by an automated cell counter.

Materials and Methods: A total of 9500 anemic blood samples were assessed over a six-month period. Evaluation and comparison were conducted between peripheral blood smear results and RBC parameters and histograms generated by automated cell counter.

Results: Microcytic hypochromic anemia accounts for 4801 cases (50.6%) out of 9500 samples. The remaining cases are dimorphic anemia (1235, 13%), normocytic normochromic (2083, 21.87%), and hemolytic anemia (687, 7.23%). Hemolytic and dimorphic anemia exhibited a significant difference (p<0.0001) when compared with RBC values and peripheral smear results. In comparison to the RBC histogram, 4513 (47.51%) cases had a left shift, 779 (8.21%) cases a right shift, and 2170 (22.85%) cases a normal bell-shaped curve, indicating, microcytic, macrocytic, and normocytic normochromic anemia respectively. The bimodal and broad-base histograms in 658 (6.93%) and 1380 (14.52%) of the cases, respectively, suggested dimorphic and hemolytic anemia.

Conclusion: In most situations, the type of anemia can be diagnosed using a peripheral blood smear examination combined with an RBC histogram investigation. To improve diagnostic accuracy, each technique should be applied in a complementary manner.