This article explores the potential benefits of point-of-care testing in the ED. Price and St. John provide a detailed description on how to approach four common aspects of point-of-care testing (POCT) in the ED, specifically, the challenges of adopting POCT, the impact of POCT on clinical decisions, the impact of...

Reprinted with permission from Biochemia Medica. The journal of Croatian Society of Medical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine. Biochemia Medica 2016;26(3):318-36  Blood gas analysis (BGA) is exposed to risks of errors caused by improper sampling, transport and storage conditions. The Clinical and Laboratory...

Bacterial infections are one of the major reasons for patients presenting to the ED - and the main cause of death in elderly patients. It is important to identify elderly patients with bacterial infections early and initiate treatment in the ED for a better outcome. However, an infection in an elderly patient can be...

Barnsley Emergency Department (ED), which recruited patients into the RATPAC trial, initiated a point-of-care (POC) pathway for low-risk chest pain patients from December 2011. All patients who underwent POC testing for chest pain between December 2011 and July 2012 were identified. Patient notes were then examined...

The management at the emergency department of patients presenting with symptoms of chest pain and/or acute dyspnea accounts for a substantial proportion of emergency care resources. In the work-up of these patients the blood measurements of cardiac troponins and brain natriuretic peptides are recommended by current...

Neonates nearly always experience their single largest day of blood loss on the day of birth due to admission laboratory testing. The term "admission laboratory testing" refers to the initial blood tests done when a baby is born and admitted to the NICU.  Total circulating blood volume in a 3.5 kg term newborn is 280...

With increasing age, an unspecific rise of fibrin degradation product in blood is observed. Thus, the D-dimer test to rule out thromboembolic events has a high false positive rate in elderly patients. In 2010, Douma et al introduced a formula to adjust D-dimer cut-off values for age in outpatients >50 years: Age ×...

Article reprinted with permission from NP Communications LLC/Medical Laboratory Observer, September 2013. Laboratorians responsible for arterial blood gas testing are focusing on sample integrity, operator safety, data accuracy, and workflow efficiency.  

In a regional top-management decision, our laboratory was given the mission to control and quality assure all POCT activities in a regional network of 10 hospitals with emergency units. Based on previous work, new region-wide recommendations, procurements,  IT connectivity, services, training, accreditation (ISO...

Emergency Department (ED) overcrowding is becoming an increasingly international issue.  Although the problem is not only resolved by ED change management (but rather requires a system-wide solution recognizing the complex interdependencies of consumer expectations, human resources, information systems immaturity and...