The population-based reference interval is the most widely used tool for interpretation of individual patient laboratory test results. The clinical value of those results depend crucially on the reference intervals with which they are compared, and all efforts directed at ensuring analytically precise and accurate...

Updated with new information from a 2008 article! Health demands that despite quite significant variation in its rate of production, the amount of carbon dioxide in blood is maintained within well-defined narrow limits. The homeostatic mechanisms that maintain the normal content of carbon dioxide in blood are...

All clinical procedures and treatments are associated with potential adverse effects of greater or lesser significance.  The undisputed value of blood testing for both diagnosis and monitoring of disease is tempered by the recognition that repeated blood sampling can result in blood loss of sufficient magnitude to...

The ‘gold standard’ sample for blood gas analysis is arterial blood obtained via an indwelling arterial catheter or by arterial puncture. For a number of reasons capillary blood is an attractive substitute sample that is routinely used in some clinical settings.  The purpose of this article is to examine the evidence ...

It is estimated that a majority of all laboratory medicine errors are errors that occur during the preanalytical phase of the laboratory testing cycle. Such errors have a significant impact on patient safety, staff workload, and hospital costs.  Correctly identifying patients and avoiding specimen-labeling errors are...

Reprinted from AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CRITICAL CARE, November 2006, Volume 15, No 6, 595-599 Hudson TL, Dukes SF, Reilly K. Use of local anesthesia for arterial puncture. Copyright with permission from American Journal of Critical Care BACKGROUND Except for intravenous therapy, arterial access is the most common...

There are few medical diagnoses that depend solely on the result of a single blood test, but diabetes mellitus, which is defined by concentration of circulating glucose, is one that does. Quite apart from its long established role in diagnosis as well as life-long monitoring of diabetes, measurement of circulating...

Modern analytical devices for testing biological fluids, such as blood, have now developed a sophistication that ensures the quality of the analytical result is capable of matching that achieved in the central laboratory.    Complementary developments are focused on reducing operator-related and connectivity-related...

The integrity and function of all cells depend on an adequate supply of oxygen. Severe acute illness is frequently associated with inadequate tissue perfusion and/or reduced amount of oxygen in blood (hypoxemia) leading to tissue hypoxia.  If not reversed, tissue hypoxia can rapidly progress to multiorgan failure and ...

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...