Abstract
Aim: A large proportion (approximately 80%) of medical decisions made by clinicians are based on laboratory test results. The most common cause of sample rejection is hemolysis. The sample must be centrifuged to detect hemolysis. The laboratory of our hospital provides precise hemolytic index measurements. However, since the biochemistry test takes a long time to result, in cases of hemolysis, the sample should be reworked, and the result should be waited. Early detection of hemolysis will provide great convenience to prevent the factors that cause hemolysis.
Materials and Methods: This single-center, prospective study included 983 patients admitted to the emergency department, aged 18 years and over, admitted to the green or yellow area, and required routine biochemistry analysis. To determine whether the Hemcheck device detects hemolysis in advance, the results of the device were compared with those of the laboratory at our hospital.
Results: A total of 1049 samples from patients admitted to the emergency department were evaluated, and 983 of them were included in the study. 628 (63.9%) were female patients, and 325 (33.1%) were male patients. The mean age of the patients was 49.95±19.5 years, 734 (74.7%) were younger than 65 years, and 249 (25.3%) were elderly. In the evaluation according to the application site, 935 (95.1%) patients were antecubital, 18 (1.8%) were forearm, and 30 (3.1%) were overhand. According to the results of our study, the agreement between the device and the laboratory results was good and was found to be statistically significant (kappa statistical value=0.511±0.03 and p<0.001).
Conclusions: According to the results of our study, the Hemcheck device successfully detected hemolysis. It has been observed that the negative effects of hemolysis in emergency departments can be reduced by using this device.