Preanalytical errors are a significant source of medical errors that can jeopardize patient safety. Proper specimen labeling practices are critical components of effective and accurate patient identification.  These variables are now considered part of the preexamination process in the newest CLSI quality system...

Supported by Pennsylvania Hospital Kernicterus Fund and the Eglin Fund In the late 1980s, the question whether bilirubin damaged the brain of healthy infants was unanswered. The absence of documented evidence influenced the formulation of the 1994 consensus-based guidelines...

Oxygen is one of the most widely used drugs in medicine, and especially so in the newborn period. In many cases, oxygen supplementation is needed and is life-giving, but we are also aware of its toxic effects. In spite of this, we still do not know exactly what is the correct way to administer this drug. It is a...

Is it a good idea to rely on vendors to help develop training materials for point-of-care testing staff? According to the lab group responsible for point-of-care (POC) testing at the Malmö University Hospital in Sweden, vendor cooperation can help you achieve a better result, faster. However, the better prepared you ...

Neonatology, perhaps more than any other field in medicine, has undergone dramatic improvements in care over the last several decades. One of the main areas of advancement is the ability to mechanically ventilate premature infants with a variety of neonatal lung conditions. As survival of premature infants has...

Test results are commonly interpreted against population-based reference (normal) intervals, which should be provided on every laboratory report, irrespective of whether the test has been done as point-of-care testing or in a clinical laboratory. Reference intervals are difficult to generate properly if international ...

Almost as soon as healthcare providers began ventilating neonates with respiratory distress syndrome, the problem of chronic lung disease began. How to manage these children in a way to promote lung growth and disease-free survival has been the question for those involved in the care of these infants since that time....

Biochemical and hematological analyses are done in laboratories, clinics, general practices and in point-of-care settings such as ITU.  Generally, numerical test results are generated.   Test results vary in individuals over time due to preanalytical variation, analytical imprecision and biological variation. The...

A specimen for clinical laboratory testing must be properly collected from the correct patient at the correct time with proper patient preparation, and the right test must be performed for answering the right question. Quality in the preanalytical phase of laboratory activity can be assured by implementing a quality...

To assess anemia and reduced oxygen-carrying capacity, a measurement of hematocrit and/or hemoglobin is performed. Whether hemoglobin or hematocrit is preferred depends on different needs and is often determined by tradition.  Both hematocrit and hemoglobin are important hematology parameters for diagnosing...