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...

Part 2: Red flags The transition from fetus to newborn is a process of rapid physiological adaptation that is sometimes delayed by complications. Most newborns complete the process of transition with little or no delay.  These infants may demonstrate normal transitional findings, including tachypnea and tachycardia, ...

Part 1: The physiology of transition The transition from fetus to neonate is a critical time of physiological adaptation. While the majority of term infants complete this process in a smooth and organized fashion, some infants experience a delay in transition or exhibit symptoms of underlying disease. Careful...

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 ...

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...

In 2001, Belgian professor Greet Van den Berghe, PhD, and her colleagues at the Leuven University Hospital began a small revolution with the publication of the 2001 study “Intensive insulin therapy in critically ill patients”. According to the study, tighter glucose control based on insulin therapy lowered rates of...

Cord blood ph measurement at birth, using relatively simple and non-invasive methods, provides obstetricians and perinatologists with an objective and sensitive measure for the condition of the infant during the final stage of birth.  As long as certain criteria are observed, the reported values are reliable. Routine ...

When it comes to acid base, there is no getting around the name of Ole Siggaard-Andersen (OSA). acutecaretesting.org talks to the world-renowned Danish professor, who has become a legend in the field of blood gas.

The Directive is a complex and detailed document and in the following the author focuses on some of the items that are particularly important for the user to be aware of.  Most of the rules will apply to the manufacturers and the public and the users will take advantage of the rulings if they become aware of their...

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, ...