Sampling capillary blood from the fetal scalp during labor of pregnancy, in order to determine its pH, was introduced to obstetric care in the late 1960s.  Despite current skepticism surrounding its utility, most notably in the US, fetal-scalp blood sampling (FSBS) is still considered a useful fetal monitoring test...

Acute pancreatitis, i.e. acute inflammation of the pancreas, causes sudden onset of severe upper abdominal pain often radiating to the back. Other symptoms include vomiting, constipation and pyrexia. Two main causes - alcohol abuse and gall stone disease – account for the majority (~80 %) of cases. The condition has a ...

The pH, base excess and pCO₂ (acid-base status) of arterial blood flowing through the umbilical cord provides valuable objective evidence of the metabolic condition of neonates at the moment of birth; a notion that has assured a role for the blood gas analyzer in hospital delivery suites in cases of suspected fetal...

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...

Since the inception of blood gas analysis, heparin has been the anticoagulant of choice for preparation of samples. Historically, syringes used to collect arterial blood for gas analysis were prepared ”in house” by aspirating a small volume of liquid heparin (LH) and then expelling it. The thin film of liquid heparin...

Umbilical-cord blood gas analysis provides objective evidence of the metabolic status of neonates at the time of delivery. Perinatal metabolic acidosis is indicative of hypoxia (sometimes the result of asphyxia during birth) and associated risk of permanent brain damage.  A recently published study sought to assess...

Bilirubin is a waste product of hemoglobin catabolism that is excreted via the liver in bile.  Abnormal accumulation of this yellow pigment in blood results in jaundice. For adults and children, increased serum bilirubin and resulting jaundice is most commonly a signal of liver or biliary-tract disease; whilst for...

Those who have been resuscitated from cardiac arrest may benefit from mechanical-ventilation strategies aimed at maintaining pCO₂ above the normal (reference) range, 35-45 mmHg (4.7-6.0 kPa). This is the headline finding of recently published research from the FINNRESCUI study group, a collaboration of Finnish...

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...

CO-oximetry provides the means for automated spectrophotometric measurement of the concentration of total hemoglobin (ctHb) in blood and the percentages of the four hemoglobin derivatives that total hemoglobin comprises: oxyhemoglobin (O₂Hb); deoxyhemoglobin (HHb); carboxyhemoglobin (COHb); and methemoglobin (MetHb)....