A comparative study between gel card method and manual method for Coomb\'s test

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to compare the Gel Card method and the Conventional Tube method for Coomb’s test. The standard procedures were being followed while performing the above mentioned two test. Based on an 8 months study, Gel card method was proven to be more reliable in concordance with its calculated p-value and the sensitivity. The advantages and disadvantages of which have been mentioned in the following. For Gel Card method, the principle of saphadex gel as a semi-solid medium is being used to trap any agglutination. For the Conventional Tube method, the SOP was being followed involving cell washing and confirmation via microscopy for any micro-clumps. The use of polyspecific antiglobulin was implemented for both the above test. The study showed p-value for Gel Card method to be < 0.05 which proves to be significant and the sensitivity of Gel Card method was also better compared to the Conventional Tube method. Our study showed that gel card is more sensitive, easy to perform and lesser time consumption, lesser sample volume plus standardized reporting. Results of Gel card can be preserved for 3-4 days. Avoidance of interobserver variability is also an added benefit due to the standard grading system. It is therefore an excellent method for detecting agglutination compared to the Conventional Tube method.