Background: Sodium (Na +) is an important electrolyte in the body, and is analyzed, among other things, to be able to assess the patient's condition in the intensive care unit (IVA) and to determine if emergency treatment is necessary. The analysis of Na + on IVA is done with the help of GEM Premier 5000, which is a patient-centered instrument and uses a direct method for analysis of whole blood. For patient sample comparison, the sample is sent to the central laboratory where the plasma is analyzed by indirect method on Advia Chemistry XPT. Deviation between the methods must not exceed 3%, otherwise the cause must be investigated.
Aim: The aim of the study is to investigate whether there is a systematic difference in Sodium results between patient-related instruments, Gem Premier 5000 and the central laboratory's instrument, Advia Chemistry XPT in different patient groups.
Method: Measurement was performed on blood samples taken in Lithium Heparin tubes of 60 participants, of which 30 were healthy blood donors (group 1) and the remaining 30 consisted of inpatients (IVA) and kidney dialysis patients, (group 2). The samples were analyzed for sodium on GEM Premier 5000 and shortly thereafter for sodium, albumin, total protein, C-reactive protein (CRP), glucose and triglycerides on Advia Chemistry XPT.
Results: Advia Chemistry XPT gave a higher concentration of Na + (139 mmol / L) than GEM Premier 5000 (138 mmol / L) for all participants. The percentage difference of Na between the methods differed for 3 participants in group 1 while it differed for half of the participants in group 2.
Conclusion: Na + results on Advia Chemistry XPT were higher than on GEM Premier 5000 for all participants. The difference was greater in patients with a high degree of morbidity. This suggests that the current acceptable deviation of 3% should be increased to 5%, in order to reduce the number of deviating values to almost the same for both groups. This must be taken into account and implemented in the business.