The use of natriuretic peptides like B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and N-terminal proBNP (NT-proBNP) has increased during the last decade and so has the medical evidence of their utility. This article highlights natriuretic peptide synthesis and release. Based on essential clinical trials the article gives medical...

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.  

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...

Point of care (POC) testing has become an important part of nephrological care. In cases of acute renal failure, POC is indispensible in deciding the need for dialysis, but is also essential in the management of patients on regular dialysis. For example, hyperhydration, cardiovascular adverse events and inflammation...

Diagnosing heart failure (HF) in patients presenting in primary care is difficult. Clinical assessment of symptoms and signs has limited sensitivity and specificity. NT-proBNP determination has been proven to be useful and accurate for ruling out the diagnosis of systolic HF, and some have even proposed different...

Many authors contend that drawing of umbilical ABGs is a simple method to evaluate the condition of the neonate and ideally would be routinely done for all newborns [13]. Other authors disagree. Appropriate general principles guide clinicians when drawing and interpreting ABGs for all patients. The special needs of...

Calcium is an essential mineral required for numerous biological functions. In circulation, calcium is found in three different fractions, anion-bound, protein-bound and free or ”ionized”. The amount of calcium in each of these fractions is dependent on the concentration of hydrogen ions, anions and plasma proteins....

BACKGROUND: Hospitals in countries with public health systems have recently adopted organizational changes to improve efficiency and resource allocation, and reducing inappropriate hospitalizations has been established as an important goal, as well as avoiding or buffering overcrowding in Emergency Departments. AIMS: ...

The term acidosis was first mentioned in the medical literature in 1898 in connection with the description of diabetic ketoacidosis. Alkalosis was first used in human medicine in 1922 by the English physiologist J. S. Haldane; it had been used in veterinary medicine somewhat earlier. In 1870, the Norwegians C. M....