Koutharapu, D., Nuevarez, J. P., and Adrian P. Ybañez, A. P. University of the Visayas Journal of Research Date Received: 30th of September, 2017 Date Accepted: 2nd of December, 2017 ABSTRACT Anemia is a common observation in several diseases in humans and animals. This condition is evaluated through the blood using parameters, including the packed cell volume (PCV). However, quick diagnosis might take longer, especially in resource limited areas, as blood samples still need to be processed in the laboratory. In this experimental study, a modified paperfuge technique was evaluated to assess anemia in an animal model. A total of 16 ICR mice were used. After animal acclimatization for ten days, persistent anemia (hemolytic) was induced in nine mice by administering phenylhydrazine every other day for three times. Only distilled water was used in the control mice. After seven days, blood was extracted from the mice. Complete blood count using a species specific hematology machine was performed. PCV was further evaluated using the centrifuge machine and the modified paperfuge technique. Results using the hematology machine showed that the phenylhydrazine-induced mice had lower red blood cell count (x̄ = 4.26 x 10^6/µL, SD=0.93) and PCV (x̄ =32.5, SD=7.5) than the red blood cell count (x̄ =5.26 x 10^6/µL, SD=1.1) and PCV (x̄ =36.5, SD=5.8) of the control mice. PCV readings from the three methods were strongly correlated with the RBC count. On the other hand, PCV readings from the paperfuge technique were also strongly and significantly correlated with the centrifuge (R=0.99, p=0.000) and hematology machine (R=0.89, p=0.000) results. Further analysis revealed that there was no significant difference observed between the PCV readings of the CBC machine, the centrifuge and the modified paperfuge (treatment group: p=0.39, control group: p=0.09). Results suggest that the modified paperfuge technique can be reliable in measuring PCV to evaluate anemia. Further studies are recommended to compare results in anemic animals and humans. Keywords: anemia, mice, paperfuge, PCV, phenylhydrazine I. INTRODUCTION omplete blood count is a routine procedure performed in the assessment of heath and disease (Grimm, Neaton, & Ludwig, 1985; Rosman, 2003; Ybañez et al., 2016). Among the parameters include the hematocrit (HCT) or the packed cell volume (PCV). PCV is the volume percentage (vol%) of red blood cells in the blood (Purves, Sadava, Orians, & Craig 2004). PCV readings can give information on the health status of an individual, most especially when anemia is a feature of the suspected disease. Anemia refers to the decrease in the total amount of red blood cells (RBCs) or hemoglobin in the blood (Valentine & Paglia, 1984), which can also be reflected in the PCV. PCV is often used to indirectly estimate the RBC counts (Uthman, 2009). PCV has been used for evaluating dengue fever (Kularatne, Gawarammana, & Kumarasiri, 2005) and malaria (Davis et al., 1990), and for suitability of blood samples for blood transfusion (Goodnough, Breeher, Kanter, & AuBuchon, 1999). PCV is evaluated using different methods. The gold standard of measuring PCV is by centrifugation (Myers & Browne, 2007). With modern laboratory equipment, PCV is not directly measured but rather calculated based on RBC indices. It has been shown that automated machines may yield different results than the measured PCV using the gold standard (Gebretsadkan, Ambachew, & Birhaneselassie, 2015). However, these two methods require equipment which can be expensive, or will require more time as samples would need to be transported to a laboratory. Hence, measurement of PCV can be difficult in the field. Recently, an ultralow-cost, hand-powered paper- centrifuge called paperfuge was invented by researchers from Stanford University. It was inspired by the mechanics of a whirligig toy. The paperfuge can reach speeds of 125,000 rpm, and can separate pure plasma from whole blood in less than 1.5 minutes, and isolate malaria parasites in 15 minutes. This method can open up opportunities for point-of-care diagnostics in A modified paperfuge technique in evaluating anemia in phenylhydydrazine-induced ICR Deepakchandran Koutharapu 1 , Johanne P. Nuevarez 2 , and Adrian P. Ybañez 3 C