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A Comparison of 2 White Blood Cell Count Devices to Aid Judicious Antibiotic Prescribing

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: michael_pichichero{at}urmc.rochester.edu.

	Abstract

A low or normal white blood cell (WBC) count is usually associated with viral illnesses. This study evaluated the reliability of a new point-of-care, inexpensive, WBC count device which requires only 10 µL (1 drop) of whole blood from a finger stick to an automated Cell-Dyn® counter in a busy office practice setting and assessed its reliability to assist in avoiding antibiotic prescribing. A total of 120 acutely ill children and potential antibiotic recipients were studied from October 2007 to March 2008. The mean WBC count was 7.4 x 10⁹/L and 8.1 x 10⁹/L for the new WBC device and the automated Cell-Dyn counter, respectively. The correlation between the 2 devices was high (r = .988, P = .005). A total of 88 children (73%) did not receive antibiotics and mean WBC was 7.2 x 10⁹/L. In all, 32 children (27%) received an antibiotic and 1 (3%) returned for a follow-up office visit for the same or a related illness. Of the 88 children with a low blood count who did not receive an antibiotic, 3 (3%) had return visit within 30 days and received an antibiotic. A simple and quick point-ofcare WBC count device produces similar results as achievable with a Cell-Dyn counter for total WBCs and may assist in judicious antibiotic prescribing.

First published on December 2, 2008, doi:10.1177/0009922808327106

Clinical Pediatrics 2009;48:291.

A more recent version of this article appeared on April 1, 2009


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