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Entrence of Queen Silvias hospital in the summertime

Queen Silvia’s Hospital for Children

Queen Silvia’s Hospital for Children, a part of the Sahlgrenska University Hospital, provides healthcare, education, and research. This is where seriously ill or injured children from the region of Västra Götaland come for emergency care. It also offers highly specialized care for children from all over Sweden. The hospital has the largest emergency unit for children with nearly 50,000 patients each year.

Why did the hospital choose the HemoCue® WBC DIFF System?

Queen Silvia’s Hospital for Children was one of the first hospitals in Sweden to evaluate the HemoCue® WBC DIFF System when it was launched in 2010. Already using the HemoCue® WBC System, the hospital had asked for a system with a differential count of the total number white blood cells.

Younis Khalid, MD and Head of Section at the emergency room for children has worked in various positions within emergency care since 2007. He remembers that when starting to use the HemoCue® WBC DIFF System, the staff experienced difficulties at first but quickly began to see the benefits of having the system in place.

Younis Khalid
MD and Head of Section

“To us, time-saving is a critical factor, and this is why we still use the HemoCue® WBC DIFF System today. Daily workflow at the emergency room includes a lot of non-value-added time since a large part of the flow consists of waiting. A large benefit is the possibility to reduce any waiting time.”

“We do not use HemoCue® WBC DIFF for all patients. We also use CRP. However, when we do use the HemoCue® WBC DIFF, we save about one hour which affects the rest of the workflow at the emergency room. Occupancy will decline and ultimately patient safety is affected in a positive way. Today, this becomes evident when it is not possible to run the system, i.e. if we run out of microcuvettes and have to send samples to the lab instead. This will cause longer waiting for the patients and increase the number of patients in movement at the emergency room. A high occupancy in the emergency room reduces patient safety; therefore it is important to reduce waiting time.”

Two nurses working with HemoCue analyzers
Moa Gustavsson and Viviana Calambas Garces use the HemoCue® WBC DIFF System at Queen Silvia’s Hospital for Children

When is the HemoCue® WBC DIFF System used?

Patients at the children’s hospital are treated for surgical and medical
conditions.

“Abdominal disorders (appendicitis, constipation, and mesenteric adenitis) are common reasons why a patient ends up at the ER”, says Younis Khalid. “It is especially important to get quick answers for the differential count when suspecting appendicitis.”

 

What are the benefits of using the HemoCue® WBC DIFF System?

The HemoCue® WBC DIFF System, based on the cuvette technology from HemoCue, is easy to use and provides a lab-accurate result in within five minutes. The doctor then makes a judgment if the infection is viral or bacterial and then decides treatment instantly during the patient’s visit. Previously, you sent the sample to the lab and waited at least an hour, sometimes longer. The main objective of using the HemoCue® WBC DIFF System is to accelerate the process of assessment to treatment. Using a 5-part diff gives necessary information needed in various clinical situations. To set diagnosis and start the right treatment with the patient on the spot may reduce the patient’s waiting time and thus allow more time for caregivers.

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