Iatrogenic phlebotomy loss resulting from the intensive clinical monitoring in the weeks immediately following birth remains the primary cause of neonatal anemia and the need for red-blood-cell (RBC) transfusion. Reducing RBC transfusion needs in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) requires new approaches for...

Test results are commonly interpreted against population-based reference (normal) intervals, which should be provided on every laboratory report, irrespective of whether the test has been done as point-of-care testing or in a clinical laboratory. Reference intervals are difficult to generate properly if international ...

About half of all newborn infants born at term develop jaundice during their first days of life, and the lower the gestational age the more frequent the jaundice is. Newborns develop hyperbilirubinemia because of a large bilirubin production, low hepatic excretion and enterohepatic recirculation. At birth the newborn ...

Biochemical and hematological analyses are done in laboratories, clinics, general practices and in point-of-care settings such as ITU.  Generally, numerical test results are generated.   Test results vary in individuals over time due to preanalytical variation, analytical imprecision and biological variation. The...

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...

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 ...

Non-invasive monitoring of oxygenation has become a standard procedure in neonatal critical care. Both transcutaneous pO₂ (tcpO₂) monitors and pulse oximeters involve methodological and practical issues that should be known to those using these devices in infants. tcpO₂ measurements are influenced by skin thickness, ...

Like many hospitals throughout the world, the Princess Royal Hospital in Sussex, England has set up a quality assurance (QA) scheme to verify the competency of glucose-meter operators. Their scoring system, however is anything but typical. Instead of relying solely on individual results, the system also uses...

In 1948, Singer and Hastings introduced the concept of buffer base (BB). The change in BB from "normal" was called deltaBB (ΔBB). This change in BB was an expression of the non-respiratory (metabolic) component of an acid-base disturbance. This was the first approximation to base excess. In the 1950s, Astrup and...

Since the mid 1990's Point of Care Testing (POCT) has been viewed as a solution to a declared need for Short Turn Around Testing (STAT).  However, is it being utilized in a way that meets the needs of improving patient care and hospital quality assurance? What is STAT testing, why and how did it become POCT? How is...