Comparison of Measurements of 12 Analytes in Equine Blood Samples Using the In-Practice Falcor 350 and the Reference KoneLab 30i Analysers

Abstract

Falcor 350 is a wet-reagent biochemistry analyser that is available for in-house use. The aim of this study was to compare the results produced by this analyser with those obtained by the KoneLab 30i that served as the reference instrument. Blood samples from 60 clinical cases were analysed for urea, creatinine, total proteins, albumin, creatine kinase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, total bilirubin, total calcium, phosphate, sodium, and potassium using both instruments. Good to excellent correlations (rs value) value) were identified for creatinine (0.88), total proteins (0.92), albumin (0.93), creatine kinase (0.98), aspartate aminotransferase (0.98), alkaline phosphatase (0.94), total bilirubin (0.98), phosphate (0.95), and potassium (0.97). The correlations for total calcium (0.71), sodium (0.68), and urea (0.64) were fair. For albumin, aspartate aminotransferase, creatine kinase, phosphate, potassium, total bilirubin, creatinine, and total proteins, the two instruments produce values that are closely related to each other and are sufficiently similar to allow them to be used interchangeably without the need for additional correction factor computations. Because of differences in the methodologies, the Falcor results for alkaline phosphatase, total calcium, and sodium cannot be used interchangeably and should be interpreted using reference intervals established from the Falcor analyser.