Comparison of three different flow cytometers in the clinical assessment of lymphocyte subsets

Objective To evaluate the consistency and accuracy among 3 brands of flow cytometers(BriCyte E6, BD FACSCanto Ⅱ and Beckman Coulter FC 500) in the detection of lymphocyte subsets. Methods According to the methodology, the BriCyte E6 was compared with 2 flow cytometers commonly used in clinical detection. Seventy-three cases (40 male and 33 female) of anticoagulation peripheral blood specimens were collected in the clinical laborartory department of Xinhua Hospital in July 2015 and the percentage (%) and absolute number (#) of the lymphocyte subsets were detected by 3 different flow cytometers within samples collected 4 h. Results There were good consistency among the 3 flow cytometers (R2>0.95, R2 from 0.969 5 to 0.992 4) in the detection of lymphocyte subsets percentage, so did in the detection of absolute number (R2>0.95, R2 from 0.969 1 to 0.993 3). As to the precision evaluation, in the detectionof CD8%, T#, CD4+ T# and CD8+ T#, BriCyte E6 achieved a low CV% compared with FACSCanto Ⅱ and FC 500 (Friedman statistics are 16.720, 11.840, 15.760 and 15.430, P=0.000 2, 0.027, 0.000 4, 0.000 4, respectively). In the detection of T%, CD4%, NK%, B%, NK#, B#, there was no significant difference among the 3 flow cytometers (Friedman statistics are 4.242, 3.916, 0.852, 2.595, 1.835 and 0.578, P=0.119 9, 0.141 2, 0.653 2, 0.273 3, 0.399 6, 0.749 0, respectively). Conclusions The 3 flow cytometers have a good consistency in the detection of lymphocyte subsets. BriCyte E6 may be an alternative or complement of existing flow cytometers.(Chin J Lab Med, 2016, 39: 361-365) Key words: Flow cytometry; Comparative study; Lymphocyte subsets; Diagnostic equipment