Comparison of the Results of Some Hematological Parameters in Venous and Capillary Blood Samples

Abstract

Background: Blood which considered one of the most important sample of body fluid due to use for hematological, biochemical, immunological assay and others. Objective: The purpose of this study is to compare the results of certain hematological parameters with both venous and capillary blood samples to find out any differences in their results by using the same laboratory methods. Methodology : In this study, we compare the results of some hematological parameters including hemoglobin concentration (Hb) , packed cell volume (PCV) , white blood cell count (WBCs), platelets count , and differential white blood cell count in both venous and capillary blood samples. Venous (forearm) and capillary (fingertip) blood samples were collected at the same time from 50 healthy male adults (20-23 years). Volunteer students of the College of Health and Medical Technology / Baghdad. The measurements of the hematological parameters were carried out manually by routine hematological methods. All the tests were done immediately after blood collection at the teaching laboratory in the College of Health and Medical Technology / Baghdad for the period from November 2012 till March 2013. Results: Capillary blood has significantly higher (P<0.001) hemoglobin concentration measurement than venous samples, while other hematologic parameters (PCV, WBCs, platelets, while differential WBC counts show no significant variation (P>0.05) between capillary and venous blood samples, except the lymphocyte count, which indicate a significant rise (P<0.05) in venous samples. Recommendations: This study focused on some hematologic tests that can be done by either capillary or venous samples. It is necessary for future studies include hematological and biochemical parameters to find out if there is any difference regard in these two samples.