ABSTRACT
Introduction:
The reticulocyte count by flow cytometry (FC) - an automated counting method - can present errors due to the presence of interfering factors, contributing to a slight increase in results. However, automated methods have large advantages over the manual method, taken as reference, what justifies efforts to improve their quality.
Objective:
Evaluate platelet interference with the reticulocyte count by FC, using thiazole orange (TO) (FC/TO).
Materials and methods:
The method of reticulocyte count by FC/TO and a modified automated equivalent method, which excluded CD61-positive cells (platelets) from analysis (FC/TO/MOD), were compared to the manual method.
Conclusion:
Results were analyzed according to the recommendations of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) to assess interchangeability between the methods, by linear regression analysis and paired t-test. The exclusion of interfering fragments from result analysis by the modified method produced results in closer proximity to those of the reference method.
Key words:
reticulocyte count; flow cytometry; blood platelets