Assistant Professor University of Guelph Guelph, ON, Canada
Abstract:
Background: It is recommended that all cats, regardless of transfusion history, undergo major crossmatch (CM) prior to blood product administration to decrease the likelihood of immunologic transfusion reactions. Crossmatching can be time consuming and result availability can be delayed, especially when performed at external laboratories. Previous studies of point-of-care CM tests have shown variable agreement with the standard tube-based assay performed at reference laboratories. Accurate CM tests that are accessible in a cost-effective and rapid manner would increase feasibility of performing CM prior to transfusions in cats.
Objective: To assess agreement between two antiglobulin-enhanced major crossmatch test methods, a laboratory-based tube (LAB-CM) and a point-of-care gel column (GEL-CM) method, in cats in need of blood transfusion.
Methods: Anemic cats considered likely to need a blood transfusion were prospectively recruited and crossmatched against donors of the same AB blood type. A major CM was performed simultaneously using two antiglobulin-enhanced methods: a standard tube assay performed at a reference laboratory (LAB-CM), and a point-of-care gel test (GEL-CM) performed in the clinic.
Results: Major crossmatch was performed on 84 unique donor-recipient pairings, using both methods (see Table 1). Kappa agreement between the LAB-CM and GEL-CM was 0.675 (95% confidence interval: 0.468-0.882). Conclusions and Clinical Importance: The antiglobulin-enhanced, point-of-care gel major CM test had good agreement with the antiglobulin-enhanced tube CM performed at a reference laboratory. Additional cats will be recruited increase the power of the study.
