Optimizing all the steps in the testing cycle is as crucial to the success of point-of-care testing (POCT) as the measurement process itself. The complete POCT process or testing cycle is a complex series of events that involve many parties in any organization.  Consultation with all the people concerned is vital and ...

Arterial blood gas analysis with the measurement of the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in arterial blood may be performed in the Pediatric ICU to evaluate the efficacy of ventilation or evaluate acid-base status. Although the direct measurement of PaCO₂ remains the gold standard, it provides only a single...

Arterial blood gas analysis is a test most frequently performed on critically ill patients in the emergency room, recovery room and intensive care unit by nursing staff. One of the main purposes of the test is assessment of acid-base status, which is often disturbed during critical illness. This article is intended...

Apgar scores and umbilical artery pH have traditionally been used as objective measures of neonatal asphyxia. According to the literature, the practice of cord gas analysis varies greatly both between and within countries - whether analysis is performed, whether it is routine at all births and why it is performed...

Numerous method comparison studies of blood gas analyzer methods have been published in the literature; unfortunately, several studies show flaws in one or several aspects of experimental design, execution, statistical analysis or interpretation of results. The most common flaw seems to be an inability to separate...

Cord blood ph measurement at birth, using relatively simple and non-invasive methods, provides obstetricians and perinatologists with an objective and sensitive measure for the condition of the infant during the final stage of birth.  As long as certain criteria are observed, the reported values are reliable. Routine ...

High frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) is often used in neonatal intensive care. HFOV has been shown to decrease bronchopulmonary dysplasia [1,2,3] in preterm infants and to be very effective in the treatment of persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn when used in conjunction with inhaled nitric oxide ...

In the U.S. all clinical laboratory determinations, including blood gas testing performed at point of care (POC) or in the central laboratory, is regulated by the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA).  Congress passed CLIA to ensure accurate, reliable, and timely test results regardless of...

When it comes to acid base, there is no getting around the name of Ole Siggaard-Andersen (OSA). acutecaretesting.org talks to the world-renowned Danish professor, who has become a legend in the field of blood gas.

Minimizing costs? Quality assurance? Training? Simpler devices? acutecaretesting.org asked four healthcare professionals in Australia and New Zealand what they saw as the main challenges of POCT. Answers were broad in spectrum. Nevertheless, three challenges were (directly or indirectly) mentioned repeatedly:...