Improved flagging rates on the Sysmex XE-5000 compared with the XE-2100 reduce the number of manual film reviews and increase laboratory productivity.

Hematology analyzers generate suspect flags in the presence of abnormal cells. False-positive rates for flags are high on all analyzers. Sysmex, Kobe, Japan, has developed new software for its XE-5000 with improved algorithms for flagging blast cells, abnormal lymphocytes or lymphoblasts, and atypical lymphocytes. This study evaluated the efficiency of these flags in 1,002 samples. The XE-5000 was compared with the XE-2100 (Sysmex) and microscopic examination of cell morphologic features. On the XE-2100, the blast flag demonstrated 90 false-positives, 13 true-positives, and 3 false-negatives. The values on the XE-5000 were 27 false-positives, 14 true-positives, and 2 false-negatives. The abnormal lymphocyte/lymphoblast flag was assessed with the atypical lymphocyte flag. The XE-2100 showed 114 false-positives, 23 true-positives, and 20 false-negatives, and on the XE-5000, there were 45 false-positives, 22 true-positives, and 21 false-negatives. This more specific flagging reduces the number of films that require manual review.