Printed from acutecaretesting.org
Articles and journal scans about Infection/sepsis
Journal Scan
September 2018
Towards a fuller understanding of acute kidney injury (AKI)
Thanks to KDIGO collaborative guidelines, diagnosis of acute kidney injury (AKI), defined as sudden decrease in kidney function (i.e. sudden decrease in glomerular filtration rate GFR), is simple and straight forwardly based on measurement of serum creatinine concentration and urine output. AKI is confirmed if any of...
Kidneys/fluids
Infection/sepsis
Article
June 2017
Lactate measurement: arterial versus capillary blood
This article reviews the results of recent clinical studies on measuring lactate in arterial versus capillary blood. While arterial blood is the gold standard sample for lactate measurement on blood gas and other point-of-care analyzers, capillary blood is an alternative sample for lactate measurement on hand-held...
Lactate
Infection/sepsis
Journal Scan
June 2017
The value of procalcitonin testing – a review of recent research
Procalcitonin (PCT) is a peptide (116 amino acids) precursor of the calcium-regulating thyroid hormone, calcitonin. Serum/plasma levels are very low (<0.1 ng/mL) or even undetectable in healthy individuals. However, in response to cytokine release during systemic inflammation, PCT synthesis increases in extra-thyroidal ...
Infection/sepsis
PCT
Article
January 2017
Lactate measurement: arterial versus venous blood sampling
This article evaluates venous blood as an alternative to arterial blood for lactate measurement, highlighting the general considerations related to each of the three types of venous blood which can be used for lactate measurement: peripheral venous blood, central venous blood and mixed venous blood.
Lactate
Infection/sepsis
Article
January 2017
Serial procalcitonin measurements for managing community-acquired pneumonia
Procalcitonin (PCT) is a biomarker which is elevated in bacterial infection. Usefulness of PCT measurements in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) has to be proven by many studies. A single measurement of PCT on admission or outpatient visits is useful to diagnose CAP, estimate causative pathogens pattern, and for...
Infection/sepsis
PCT
Article
October 2016
Detection of bacterial infections using PCT and CRP in elderly emergency room patients
Bacterial infections are one of the major reasons for patients presenting to the ED - and the main cause of death in elderly patients. It is important to identify elderly patients with bacterial infections early and initiate treatment in the ED for a better outcome. However, an infection in an elderly patient can be...
Infection/sepsis
PCT
CRP
Journal Scan
September 2016
Laboratory diagnosis of sepsis
Sepsis and septic shock are related consequences of infection that together are a common cause of serious morbidity and high mortality around the world. Survival after sepsis/septic shock depends on rapid diagnosis and treatment with intense monitoring in a critical care unit.
Following a 2-year expert appraisal of...
Lactate
PCT
Infection/sepsis
Article
August 2016
Procalcitonin used in the emergency room
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...
Infection/sepsis
Point-of-care testing
PCT
Article
January 2016
Temperature correction of blood gas and pH measurement - an unresolved controversy
The process of blood gas and pH measurement involves preheating the arterial blood sample to normal body temperature (37 °C) prior to measurement of pH, partial pressure of oxygen (pO2) and partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2).
This ensures that results reflect in vivo temperature condition. A minority of...
Preanalytical phase
Blood gases/acid-base
Infection/sepsis
Article
April 2015
Update on Procalcitonin Measurements
Reprinted from Ann Lab Med 2014 Sep; 34(4):263-73.
Procalcitonin (PCT) is used as a biomarker for the diagnosis of sepsis, severe sepsis and septic shock. At the same time, PCT has also been used to guide antibiotic therapy. This review outlines the main indications for PCT measurement and points out possible...
Infection/sepsis
PCT
CRP
Kidneys/fluids