An evaluation of the Abaxis VSPro for the measurement of equine plasma fibrinogen concentrations.
Authors: Epstein K L, Brainard B M
Journal: Equine veterinary journal
Summary
# Editorial Summary: VSPro Fibrinogen Testing in Equine Practice Plasma fibrinogen measurement is a valuable diagnostic marker for inflammatory conditions in horses, yet access to reliable point-of-care testing has been limited; this study evaluated whether the Abaxis VSPro benchtop analyser could provide accurate and precise results comparable to established laboratory methods. Researchers tested the VSPro against two gold-standard coagulation analysers (ACL 1000 and STA Compact) using both frozen samples from horses with gastrointestinal disease and fresh samples from hospitalised animals, employing correlation and Bland-Altman statistical analyses to assess performance. The VSPro demonstrated strong correlation with both reference methods (r = 0.94 and r = 0.926 respectively) with acceptable coefficients of variability (7–15%) and minimal bias (less than 1 g/l difference), meaning clinicians can rely on its readings for patient assessment. For practitioners managing acute inflammatory conditions—colitis, peritonitis, pleuritis—the VSPro offers the significant advantage of rapid in-house fibrinogen measurement, enabling faster clinical decision-making without sacrificing diagnostic accuracy; this is particularly valuable in emergency situations where reference laboratory turnaround times could delay critical treatment initiation.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •The VSPro offers a clinically reliable benchtop option for measuring plasma fibrinogen in hospitalized horses, enabling rapid assessment of inflammatory status without sending samples to reference laboratories
- •With strong correlation to reference methods and acceptable precision (7-15% CV), results can be confidently used to monitor horses with gastrointestinal or other inflammatory diseases in clinical practice
- •The minimal bias suggests VSPro measurements are directly comparable to standard laboratory results, making it suitable for serial monitoring and clinical decision-making in real-time
Key Findings
- •VSPro coefficients of variability ranged from 7% to 15% for plasma fibrinogen measurement
- •VSPro fibrinogen values correlated strongly with ACL 1000 (r = 0.94, P<0.001) and STA Compact (r = 0.926, P<0.001) reference methods
- •Bland-Altman analysis showed minimal mean bias of -0.83 g/l for ACL 1000 and -0.024 g/l for STA Compact comparisons
- •VSPro provides rapid benchtop measurement of equine plasma fibrinogen with comparable accuracy to reference laboratory methods