Hemoglobin is the oxygen-carrying protein contained in red blood cells (erythrocytes). Although normally present in only trace amounts, there are three species of hemoglobin that cannot transport oxygen.  The three species, collectively called dyshemoglobins because of their functional redundancy, are methemoglobin,...

Iatrogenic phlebotomy loss resulting from the intensive clinical monitoring in the weeks immediately following birth remains the primary cause of neonatal anemia and the need for red-blood-cell (RBC) transfusion. Reducing RBC transfusion needs in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) requires new approaches for...

Blood gases are measured from an arterial blood sample to evaluate the respiratory adequacy and oxygen status of the critically ill patient. For the adult patient, the arterial blood is sampled either by arterial puncture or from an indwelling catheter. In neonates and children, the wish to minimize iatrogenic blood...

Methods for the measurement of hemoglobin (Hb) were first developed well over a century ago, so that hemoglobin was among the first diagnostic blood tests available to clinicians during the first decades of the 20th century when laboratory medicine was in its infancy.  Today it is the most frequently requested blood...

Five years of data on percutaneous injuries (PIs) from the EPINet multi-hospital sharps injury database at the University of Virginia were analyzed to understand exposure risks faced by personnel in intensive care/critical care settings. Of 687 PIs in intensive care units (ICUs), nurses had the highest proportion of...

As point-of-care testing (POCT) becomes more popular in healthcare institutions because of its ability to deliver high-quality results at the bedside, point-of-care coordinators (POCCs) are becoming increasingly tasked with controlling costs. To deal with this responsibility, POCCs often turn to equipment to solve...

Lately, everybody seems to be talking about reducing testing errors and improving patient safety. But where do you begin? The answer may be to look beyond the error itself and instead focus on what is causing it. Michael Astion, Associate Professor, Director of the University of Washington’s Reference Laboratory...

The University College London Hospitals (UCLH) is one of the largest NHS trusts in England. The Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and Obstetric Hospital houses the Trust's gynecology, obstetric and neonatal services. At the neonatal unit, blood gas monitoring has historically been done by a combination of blood gas...

In 1998, Fleury Diagnostics, Brazil's most comprehensive center for diagnostic medicine and pathology with 1,600 employees and 2,500 patients a day, implemented its own system for managing documents necessary for certification and point-of-care testing (POCT) programs. The system was entirely developed in-house in the ...

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...