The application of transcutaneous pO₂/pCO₂ monitoring is essential in optimizing the ventilatory management of critically ill newborns. Application areas include high-frequency oscillatory ventilation initiation, transitioning modes of ventilation, and inter-facility transport.

Babies are not small adults! The potential for abnormal adaptation to life outside of the womb, changes in physiology, and a myriad of possible life-threatening clinical conditions requires an understanding of the laboratory tests needed to support these infants.  To effectively handle the unique needs of these...

The concept of “metrological traceability” is important when establishing comparable clinical decision limits for a measured analyte at different hospitals within one country and in different countries.  This can only be achieved if all instrument manufacturers establish the performance characteristics of their...

Whether performed by one "traditional" or several "point-of-care" devices, all Multi-Profile Blood Gas (MPBG) results must be accurate and precise if they are to be effective in managing critically ill patients. Optimal analytical quality control of multi-profile blood gas analysis requires a good quality assurance...

How do small labs cope with the demands of modern quality assurance? In this interview, Ruth Lock, head of the laboratory of the Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Dept. of the Copenhagen County Hospital in Glostrup, Denmark, tells how her lab keeps up with demands with the help of training and quality control.

Two months of acclimatization to high altitude leads to an adaptation of the aerobic capacity of the myocardium, characterized by an increased ability to extract O₂ from the coronary vascular bed. An increased mitochondrial volume and activity of oxidative enzymes or improved diffusion conditions could be involved.

Providing continuous technical support and reliable test data collection for point-of-care blood gas testing is a difficult task for many laboratories.  Here we describe how the implementation of an integrated instrument control and data management system for point-of-care blood gas testing has streamlined these...

How relevant is transcutaneous measurements in the detection of critical limb ischemia?  Acutecaretesting.org has asked a group of respected researchers and clinicians in the US and Europe to describe how they use transcutaneous measurements in their daily work.

The pro-con debate on the advisability of introducing POCT deals with the likely clinical benefits but – to an even higher degree – with the economic aspects. We discuss various models for determining the costs, and some caveats.

Point-of-care testing (POCT) is a delivery option for performing laboratory testing closer to the patient. Due to increasing healthcare pressures for faster turnaround of laboratory results and the development of a broader menu of testing devices, POCT is growing in popularity. Devices today are more portable,...