Comparison of classification of anemia based on mean corpuscular volume by hematology analyzer and peripheral smear examination

Objective: This study was conducted to identify different morphological patterns of anemia based on mean corpuscular volume determined by a hematology analyzer and comparing it with peripheral smear examination. Material and Methods: A total of 94 anemic patients were studied at Punjab Institute of Cardiology. Anemia was characterized by a decrease in hemoglobin (Hb) concentration below normal limit i.e <12g/dl in women and <13.0 g/dl in men using an automated analyzer. Morphological classification was done based on peripheral smear examination findings and mean corpuscular volume (MCV). SPSS version 26 was used for data analysis. Frequencies were calculated for gender and subtypes of anemia and its severity was calculated into percentages. Age was calculated as mean and SD. Post stratification Chi- square test was applied to compare PSE and automated analyser taking p value of more 0.0001 as significant. Results: The mean age of included patients was 34.88± 15.25 years with minimum and maximum age 7 months old and 85 years. Females were more commonly affected than males with male to female ratio 1:2. Majority, i.e. 53% of patients suffered from moderate degree of anemia while 39% participants had hypochromic microcytic pattern of anemia. Post stratification Chi- square test was applied to compare peripheral smear examination and automated analyzer which gave a significant p value of 0.0002. Conclusion: This study emphasizes the role of PSE in comparison with automated hematology analyzer for the diagnosis and subtyping of various forms of anemias.