Читать книгу Immunophenotyping for Haematologists - Barbara J. Bain, Irene Roberts - Страница 10

Flow cytometry must not be interpreted in isolation but in the light of the clinical history, findings on physical examination and the results of other investigations. In particular, the blood or bone marrow film should be carefully examined in the light of the clinical and laboratory findings. Specimens are frequently sent for flow studies where the referring clinician does not have a working diagnosis. For example, a patient presenting with pancytopenia could have a number of potential diagnoses including acute leukaemia, myelodysplastic syndrome, a lymphoproliferative disorder or aplastic anaemia. A morphological review is essential in order that an appropriate panel of antibodies is utilised. Not uncommonly an abnormal cell population in the blood is present at low levels, examples being acute leukaemia, high grade lymphoma and hairy cell leukaemia. The cells identified as being of potential interest morphologically must be correlated with abnormal populations seen in scatter plots so that an appropriate gating strategy is utilised.