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kleintierklinik@vetmed.fu-berlin.de
Blood transfusions have gained an important role in feline
intensive care medicine which, in turn, has led to an increased
demand for point-of-care blood-typing methods.
The objective of this prospective study was to evaluate a novel
immunochromatographic blood-typing test (RapidVet-H IC
feline) (IC) for the feline AB blood group system.
EDTA-anticoagulated blood samples from 105 sick and
healthy cats were typed comparatively with the IC test and 2
other laboratory methods, a tube agglutination (TUBE) and a
gel column test (DiaMed ID) (GEL). The samples were between
0 and 10 days old (median 3) and were tested for hemolysis and
agglutination; the hematocrit ranged from 7 to 57% (median 40).
The TUBE and the GEL method were in agreement for all
blood types in 100% of the tests. 85 A, 17 B and 3 AB samples
were determined. The IC test correctly identified 80 A samples, 4
were typed as AB and 1 was inconclusive (weak indicator line).
All 17 B samples and 2 AB samples were correctly typed; one of
the AB samples was inconclusive. The sample quality had no
influence on test performance.
The agreement of the IC-test with the control methods was
96.1% for the 103 conclusive tests. It is suggested that AB results
be reconfirmed with a TUBE or GEL laboratory method and that
a “back-typing” will be performed with plasma from B-samples to
detect the presence of alloantibodies. Given its accuracy and ease
of use, the IC test can be recommended for clinical settings.
HM-