For patients presenting to the ED with symptoms of a suspected infection, measuring procalcitonin (PCT) is a useful diagnostic tool to identify bacterial infections, such as sepsis, allowing for early initiation of proper antibiotic treatment. In assessing the severity of sepsis, serum PCT levels are an important...

Clinical sensitivity, clinical specificity and predictive values are frequently used as performance measure for a biochemistry assay. When D-dimer assay performance is presented, emphasis is often on the negative predictive value (NPV). However, predictive values are greatly influenced by the prevalence of the...

This article first appeared in Pathology in Practice (Hobba H, Silver L. Evolution of POC testing. Pathology in Practice 2013; 14 [2]: 63) and is reproduced here by kind permission (www.pathologyinpractice.com). © 2013 kdm communications limited Point-of-care (POC) testing has allowed the pathology department in...

In the past years, emergency rooms (ER) all over Germany, especially those of maximum-care hospitals, have been faced with an increasing number of patients. This is caused by a variety of factors, including demographic changes, inflexible ambulant services and an overreaching demand for healthcare services. ER...

Point-of-care testing (POCT) for key laboratory variables may help clinicians assess the level of acuteness and the level of care necessary in the management of deteriorating ward patients. We used a multibiomarker POCT panel including B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), D-dimer, myoglobin (Myo), creatine kinase MB...

Neonates nearly always experience their single largest day of blood loss on the day of birth due to admission laboratory testing. The term "admission laboratory testing" refers to the initial blood tests done when a baby is born and admitted to the NICU.  Total circulating blood volume in a 3.5 kg term newborn is 280...

Reprinted from Ann Lab Med 2013 Sep; 33(5):309-18. Christenson E, Christenson RH: "The role of cardiac biomarkers in the diagnosis and management of patients presenting with suspected acute coronary syndrome". Myocardial infarction (MI) is the leading cause of death in the developed world. Biomarkers have an...

In high-level athletes preparation, using point-of-care testing (POCT) in sports-specific environments, we tried to define and control the levels of exercise intensities (“energy training zones”), to quantify metabolic functionality (sports-specific energy sources, baseline conditions, functional costs of exercise in...

With increasing age, an unspecific rise of fibrin degradation product in blood is observed. Thus, the D-dimer test to rule out thromboembolic events has a high false positive rate in elderly patients. In 2010, Douma et al introduced a formula to adjust D-dimer cut-off values for age in outpatients >50 years: Age ×...

Article reprinted with permission from NP Communications LLC/Medical Laboratory Observer, September 2013. Laboratorians responsible for arterial blood gas testing are focusing on sample integrity, operator safety, data accuracy, and workflow efficiency.