Calcium is an essential mineral required for numerous biological functions. In circulation, calcium is found in three different fractions, anion-bound, protein-bound and free or ”ionized”. The amount of calcium in each of these fractions is dependent on the concentration of hydrogen ions, anions and plasma proteins....

BACKGROUND: Hospitals in countries with public health systems have recently adopted organizational changes to improve efficiency and resource allocation, and reducing inappropriate hospitalizations has been established as an important goal, as well as avoiding or buffering overcrowding in Emergency Departments. AIMS: ...

The term acidosis was first mentioned in the medical literature in 1898 in connection with the description of diabetic ketoacidosis. Alkalosis was first used in human medicine in 1922 by the English physiologist J. S. Haldane; it had been used in veterinary medicine somewhat earlier. In 1870, the Norwegians C. M....

Chris Price and Andrew St John have followed their book Point-of-Care Testing for Managers and Policymakers with another look at the subject from strategic vision to change management and implementation in Point-of-Care Testing: Making Innovation Work for Patient-Centered Care. In their latest book the authors give...

Frequent blood glucose measurement is one element of the routine intensive monitoring that all critically ill patients receive following admission to intensive care units. Transient increase in blood glucose concentration (hyperglycemia) is very common in this patient group.  The significance of this so called stress...

Reprinted and translated by permission of Läkartidningen from “Serumlaktat - användbar analys inom akutsjukvården”, by Bengt R Widgren and Monique Ekhardt, 2011; vol 108: 475-477. Copyright 2011 by Author, Läkartidningen and AB Typoform, Sweden.Translated by Radiometer Medical ApS. In emergency care triage, diagnosis...

Increased blood glucose concentration (hyperglycemia) is an essential diagnostic feature of diabetes, and normalization of blood glucose is the principal aim of diabetes treatment. Hyperglycemia can also occur in the non-diabetic population when normal hormonal control of blood glucose concentration is disturbed by...

Sepsis is a major cause of mortality and morbidity for hospitalized patients around the world. Early intervention can reduce mortality and morbidity from severe sepsis, but signs and symptoms of sepsis are non-specific. Point-of-care lactate has proved to be an invaluable tool for some institutions in standardized...

Modern blood gas analyzers often have incorporated sensor technology that allows measurement of plasma lactate concentration. In nature lactate exists in two isoforms: L-lactate and D-lactate.  In all vertebrates, including humans, the L-lactate form is by far the most abundant and pathophysiologically significant,...

Patients with sepsis, severe sepsis and/or septic shock are at increased risk of death and organ dysfunction.  While morbidity and mortality of patients with severe traumatic injury, acute myocardial infarction or stroke have been significantly reduced during recent years by the implementation of well-coordinated...