Calculation-based approaches to determining oxygen saturation, as used in some point-of-care tests, increasingly deviate from values measured directly by CO-oximetry as the partial pressure of oxygen in the blood decreases. Oxygen saturation should be measured by CO-oximetry when inaccuracies in calculations may...

This short review aims to put the diagnostic options provided by state-of-the-art POCT  technology into perspective with the clinical challenges faced by physicians treating patients presenting with acute dyspnea.  Natriuretic peptides, hemoglobin, D-dimers and venous blood gases play a key role in the early...

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...

In high-level athletes preparation, using point-of-care testing (POCT) in sports-specific environments, we tried to define and control the levels of exercise intensities (“energy training zones”), to quantify metabolic functionality (sports-specific energy sources, baseline conditions, functional costs of exercise in...

Timely and accurate diagnosis of sepsis is of great importance for the choice of treatment, level of monitoring and prognosis. For this biomarkers could be a significant aid, and thus the search for and application of sepsis biomarkers are of great importance.  Current evidence suggests that C-reactive protein and...

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, ...

Transcutaneous monitoring of carbon dioxide plays an important role during short-term and long-term treatments for ventilatory failure. Progress during short-term treatments can be judged through tcpCO₂ recordings - especially to avoid crash reintubation of patients who have been weaned off invasive ventilation....