When a new D-dimer method is to be implemented either as a substitute for a currently used D-dimer assay or as a supplement, maybe as a point-of-care assay, it is necessary to do a clinical comparison of the "old" assay versus the "new" assay. The major pitfalls in D-dimer comparisons are addressed in this paper.   ...

Critical values are those associated with imminent danger unless acted upon promptly. Critical value menus often include results that do not fit this definition, leading to highly variable practice in adult and pediatric laboratories. Existing menus may be subdivided into more uniform tiers of severity: the highly...

Sensitivity and specificity define the discriminative power of a diagnostic procedure, whereas predictive values relate to the predictive ability of a test to identify disease or its absence in individuals.  Predictive values are greatly influenced by the prevalence of the disease and should not be generalized beyond ...

The field of point-of-care testing (POCT) is entering a period of rapid expansion. This expansion is being driven by new evidence for clinical effectiveness of POCT, and new technologies that allow consolidation of testing onto smaller platforms. Technological improvements will also lead to increased accuracy for...

Patients with heart failure (HF) experience significant morbidity and mortality and those admitted for acute decompensated HF are at particularly high risk for adverse events. Hospitalization represents the major component of the high cost associated with the management of patients with HF. Accordingly, early and...

The discriminative ability of a diagnostic procedure is called diagnostic accuracy, and a number of quantitative measures out of which sensitivity and specificity are mostly used in the biomedical literature can express it. Each diagnostic-accuracy measure relates to some specific aspects of a diagnostic procedure....

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...

It is estimated that a majority of all laboratory medicine errors are errors that occur during the preanalytical phase of the laboratory testing cycle. Such errors have a significant impact on patient safety, staff workload, and hospital costs.  Correctly identifying patients and avoiding specimen-labeling errors are...

Introduction of point–of-care testing (POCT) in hospitals requires the use of principles of change management. Manufacturers can support this process. E-learning programs adapted to the local situation with regular updates, a centralized accreditation and user-registration system and service level agreements are...

Maintaining lasting progress in laboratory test utilization is difficult to do without a reminder tool for providers. Since implementation of a quarterly physician report card in 2003, we have seen sustained improvement in the ordering of wellness tests in an ambulatory care network in the United States for over four...