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.   ...

Analytical methods are often developed at one site and transferred to other sites for routine use. Increasingly, the method development is made by manufacturers of instruments and reagents. Regulatory agencies have ruled that the responsibility for the performance of IVDs in the laboratories mainly should lie with...

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...

In 2005, acutecaretesting.org interviewed Dr Michael Astion, an active spokesperson for patient safety and reduction of lab errors, on the main issues surrounding the topic. Since then, a lot has changed… or has it? In a follow-up interview with Astion, acutecaretesting.org gauges the status of patient safety year...

Mock inspections are a great way to prepare for real-life inspections from regulatory agencies such as CAP and JCAHO. But where do you start? And most importantly, what should you look for? Lou Ann Wyer, Clinical Specialist, POCT at the Virginia-based Sentara Laboratory Services and Theresa Kulik, Point-of-care...

Where do you go for help, when you are a parent of a child who stops breathing while it sleeps? If you live in the south of Sweden, you go to Halmstad County Hospital, where a team of specialists are ready to monitor your sleeping child by polysomnography (PSG). The neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in Halmstad has ...

Ever since the landmark document “To err is human” [1] was released, patient safety has been the paramount objective in US hospitals. “Patient safety” became the catch phrase and focus for all activities; a trend that was rapidly taken up by the rest of the world’s hospitals. Suddenly a new catch phrase – “lean” – ...

Hospital do Coração (HCor) in São Paolo, Brazil is a hospital for cardiac patients, many of whom are children and newborns. Cardiac patients are closely monitored with respect to acid base and blood gases, and even the newborns have several arterial and venous blood samples drawn daily. Dr Alberto Duarte from the...

Reprinted with permission from British Journal of Nursing, 2004, Vol 13, No 9.  Arterial puncture is the most common method used to obtain a sample for the measurement of arterial blood gases (ABGs) and is essential to guide the prescription of long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) in patients with chronic hypoxic lung...

As point-of-care testing (POCT) continues to expand in the hospital environment, the desire of physicians to participate in the performance of testing may increase. This article discusses the required competencies for a physician who wishes to be involved in laboratory testing and some practical considerations for...