Evaluation of new indigenous “point‑of‑care” ABO and Rh grouping device

• Published in: Journal of laboratory physicians Vol. 10; no. 1; pp. 080 - 084
• Main Authors: Tiwari, Aseem Kumar, Setya, Divya, Aggarwal, Geet, Arora, Dinesh, Dara, Ravi C., Ratan, Ankita, Bhardwaj, Gunjan, Acharya, Devi Prasad
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: A-12, Second Floor, Sector -2, NOIDA -201301, India Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Private Ltd 01.01.2018; Wolters Kluwer India Pvt. Ltd; Medknow Publications and Media Pvt. Ltd; Thieme Medical Publishers Inc; Medknow Publications & Media Pvt Ltd; Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Pvt. Ltd
• Subjects: abo grouping; Accuracy; Automation; Blood & organ donations; Blood analyzers; Blood banks; Blood groups; Blood transfusion; Blood typing; Cell adhesion & migration; column agglutination technology; donor screening; ease of use; erycard; Health screening; Humidity; lateral flow; Management; Medicine; Methods; Original; Original Article; point of care; stability; ease of use; ABO grouping; Column Agglutination Technology; donor screening; Erycard; lateral flow; point of care; stability
• ISSN: 0974-2727; 0974-7826
• DOI: 10.4103/JLP.JLP_71_17

Abstract BACKGROUND: Erycard 2.0 is a “point-of-care” device that is primarily being used for patient blood grouping before transfusion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Erycard 2.0 was compared with conventional slide technology for accuracy and time taken for ABO and Rh forward grouping result with column agglutination technology (CAT) being the gold standard. Erycard 2.0 as a device was also evaluated for its stability under different storage conditions and stability of result till 48 h. In addition, grouping of hemolyzed samples was also tested with Erycard 2.0. Ease of use of Erycard 2.0 was evaluated with a survey among paramedical staff. RESULTS: Erycard 2.0 demonstrated 100% concordance with CAT as compared with slide technique (98.9%). Mean time taken per test by Erycard 2.0 and slide technique was 5.13 min and 1.7 min, respectively. After pretesting storage under different temperature and humidity conditions, Erycard 2.0 did not show any deviation from the result. The result did not change even after 48 h of testing and storage under room temperature. 100% concordance was recorded between pre- and post-hemolyzed blood grouping. Ease of use survey revealed that Erycard 2.0 was more acceptable to paramedical staff for its simplicity, objectivity, and performance than conventional slide technique. CONCLUSION: Erycard 2.0 can be used as “point-of-care” device for blood donor screening for ABO and Rh blood group and can possibly replace conventional slide technique.