Evaluation of the diagnostic value of automated hematopoietic stem cell counting

Background. The article presents the results of a comparative analysis of the effectiveness of automated and manual (microscopic) methods for counting hematopoietic stem cells in peripheral blood and leukocyte concentrate samples.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of automated counting of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) in various types of biomaterial (peripheral blood, leukapheresis product) of patients undergoing the procedure of mobilization and collection of HSC at the clinic of the R.M. Gorbacheva Research Institute of Pediatric Oncology, Hematology and Transplantology in the period 2018–2019.

Materials and methods. A retrospective analysis of the medical records of 98 patients was conducted. A total of 278 valid observations were analyzed: 172 peripheral blood samples and 106 leukapheresis product samples. The study compared two methods for leukocyte (WBC) quantification: automated counting on a Sysmex XN‑1000 hematology analyzer (Sysmex Corporation, Japan) and manual microscopic counting in a Goryaev chamber. Statistical analysis of the obtained data was performed using the Python programming language (version 3.9.6). Quantitative indicators are presented as median and interquartile range (Me [Q1; Q3]).

Results. The study found that the implementation of automated hematopoietic progenitor cell counting (HPC parameter) on the Sysmex XN‑1000 platform has fundamentally changed the paradigm of leukapheresis laboratory support. The key advantage of this technology is the ability to standardize monitoring, eliminating the variability inherent in manual methods. Statistical analysis demonstrated the need to abandon the traditional leukocyte counting in the Goryaev chamber.

Conclusions. The HPC parameter on the Sysmex XN‑1000 platform has proven itself as a precision tool for optimizing diagnostic testing and ensuring the timely procurement of high‑quality transplants. Given the method’s proven reliability, the next stage of the study will aim to verify it against the reference method (flow fluorescence cytometry of CD34+ cells) for the final validation of the developed diagnostic algorithms.

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