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...

Identification of products by barcode has been utilized by industry and business for over 30 years. The use of barcodes in the hospital setting is also well established, but in the patient environment, hospitals are still behind industry. For Point-of-Care Testing (POCT), barcodes are highly desirable. Deanna Bogner, ...

According to the Hvidovre Hospital, standardizing is a must if POCT is to run optimally. In the first article of the series "POCT setups for blood gas", acutecaretesting.org interviews the Danish hospital on how they have successfully implemented POCT.

Accreditation of medical laboratory examinations in the widest sense is becoming important as a management tool and a means to create confidence in results. The International Standard ISO/IEC 17025:1999 provides the general requirements for quality management system and technical competence, but the medical...

Attention to how data are handled by different groups in a hospital is important when interfacing a point-of-care testing system. Consideration of existing data handling practices and future data evaluation needs - before, during, and after installation - and careful planning in cooperation with each hospital...

Preparing for an accreditation inspection is often synonymous with carts full of paper. For some labs, though, the paper hassle associated with accreditation is now history. These labs are letting their data management systems do all the work.

The measurement of the electrolytes in blood is one of the most frequently performed measurements as the electrolytes are of major physiological importance for numerous functions of the body. Analysis of electrolytes such as sodium and potassium are performed in the traditional clinical chemistry laboratory, but are...

"Six Sigma" is the latest trend in quality management and is being widely implemented in business and industry today. Six Sigma represents an evolution of Total Quality Management (TQM), providing a more quantitative framework for evaluating process performance and clearer goals for process improvement. The...

Both high and low blood glucose levels may be dangerous to the newborn baby. Measurement of blood or plasma lactate concentrations gives an indication of the adequacy of oxygen delivery to tissues, and blood and CSF lactate levels are essential investigations in the diagnosis of inborn errors of metabolism (IEM)....