Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
High accuracy of Sysmex test for diagnosing feline infectious
By Giordano, Alessia et al.·Published in Veterinary clinical pathology·2015·Department of Veterinary Science and Public Health, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: High diagnostic accuracy of the Sysmex XT-2000iV delta total nucleated cells on effusions for feline infectious peritonitis.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of cats with suspected feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) had their fluid samples tested to see how accurately a specific blood test (the total nucleated cells count) could diagnose the disease. The results showed that cats with FIP had significantly higher total nucleated cell counts compared to those without the disease, making this test a reliable option for diagnosis. The study found that a count above 1.7 was highly indicative of FIP, with a sensitivity of 90% and specificity of 93%. This means that the test can effectively help veterinarians identify FIP in cats, leading to better treatment decisions.
People also search for: cat FIP symptoms · feline infectious peritonitis diagnosis · cat fluid test for FIP
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The ΔWBC (the ratio between DIFF and BASO counts of the Sysmex XT-2000iV), hereafter defined as ΔTNC (total nucleated cells), is high in effusions due to feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), as cells are entrapped in fibrin clots formed in the BASO reagent. Similar clots form in the Rivalta's test, a method with high diagnostic accuracy for FIP. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy for FIP and the optimal cutoff of ΔTNC. METHODS: After a retrospective search of our database, DIFF and BASO counts, and the ΔTNC from cats with and without FIP were compared to each other. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative likelihood ratios (LR+, LR-) were calculated. A ROC curve was designed to determine the cutoff for best sensitivity and specificity. RESULTS: Effusions from 20 FIP and 31 non-FIP cats were analyzed. The ΔTNC was higher (P < .001), and BASO and DIFF counts were lower (P < .001 and P < .05) in FIP than in non-FIP cats. Only 2 FIP cats with atypical effusions had a ΔTNC < 3.0. The cutoff identified by the ROC curve (area under curve: 0.94; P < .001) was 1.7 (Sensitivity = 90.0%; Specificity = 93.53%; LR+ = 13.9; LR- = 0.1). A ΔTNC > 2.5 had 100% specificity. CONCLUSIONS: The ΔTNC has a high diagnostic accuracy for FIP-related effusions by providing an estimate of precipitable proteins, as the Rivalta's test, in addition to the cell count. As fibrin clots result in false lower BASO counts, the ΔTNC is preferable to the WBC count generated by the BASO channel alone in suspected FIP effusions.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25847704/