Comparison of visual assessments of anisocytosis in canine blood smears and analyzer-calculated red blood cell distribution width

Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) and visual assessments of anisocytosis assess variability in erythrocyte size. Veterinary studies on the correlation between two methods observer agreement are scarce. The objectives were to grading by means conventional microscopy canine smears RDW, intra- inter-observer variation assessing degree anisocytosis. study included 100 samples which smear examination RDW measurement performed. was measured Advia 2120i analyzer. based a human scheme ratio size representative largest red that smallest (1+ if <2x, 2+ 2–3x, 3+ 3–4x, 4+ >4x). Three observers participated assessed twice, 3 weeks apart each observer. for occasion using Kendahl-tau-b analysis. Intra-observer quadratically weighted kappa. Inter-observer free-marginal multi-rater Anisocytosis graded correlated significantly with values as ranging 0.37 0.51 ( p < 0.0001). ranged from weak moderate resulting kappa-coefficients being 0.58, 0.68, 0.75, respectively. (Kappa-values 0.44). assessment indicates more precise repeatable should be used clinical decision-making.