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Article
April 2006
Red-cell transfusion – risks and benefits - part 2 of 2
This is the second of two articles about the risks and benefits of red-cell transfusion directed at healthcare professionals without any particular transfusion expertise.
The focus of the first article was the risks and the extensive measures taken to minimize those risks.
For this second article, attention turns to...
Blood gases/acid-base
Hemoglobins
Kidneys/fluids
Article
April 2006
I found the gap… it’s in the basement!
This is the second in a series of articles. The first
essay, “Quality control in theory and practice – a gap analysis”,
published here in January 2006 raised the question:
Has “the system” given front-line laboratory workers the
knowledge and tools they need to make quality control decisions
wisely – or is there a...
Quality assurance
Article
January 2006
Quality control in theory and practice – a gap analysis
Millions of times every day, in a myriad of distinctive
laboratories around this globe, front-line workers make the final
decision on the quality of results they report.
If they decide the
quality is “OK”, patient results are released to impact clinical
decisions, and proficiency values reflect the overall ability...
Quality assurance
Article
January 2006
Preventing error in POCT with effective policies and procedures
Effectively written policies and procedures can help
contribute to an error-free POCT program. Sentara Healthcare has
incorporated policy and procedure development into their safety
program. It is coined Focus & Simplify and is about improving
the effectiveness of work processes and procedure
documentation.
Through ...
Point-of-care testing
Preanalytical phase
Article
January 2006
Red-cell transfusion – risks and benefits - part 1 of 2
Although often of life-saving benefit, transfusion of
donated red cells is associated with considerable potential risk
for the recipient patient.
This article, directed at healthcare
professionals without any particular transfusion expertise,
outlines these risks and the measures taken to minimize them.
Particular...
Blood gases/acid-base
Preanalytical phase
Hemoglobins
Neonatology
Article
January 2006
Neonate capillary blood gas reference values
Reprinted with permission from Elsevier from "Neonate capillary blood gas reference values", by Jocelyne Cousineau, Suzanne Anctil, Ana Carceller, Monique Gonthier and Edgard E. Delvin, CLINICAL BIOCHEMISTRY, Vol no 38, 2005, pp 905-907. Copyright 2005 by Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists.
OBJECTIVES
Because...
Neonatology
Blood gases/acid-base
Glucose
Hemoglobins
Lactate
Kidneys/fluids
Article
January 2006
The trouble with properly describing the oxygen-transport-related quantities
There is widespread confusion concerning the quantities to
be used in the description of the oxygen-transport properties of
human blood [1].
It all began in 1980 with the introduction of a
changed (and wrong) definition of oxygen saturation in a paper on a
new instrument for multicomponent analysis (MCA) of...
Blood gases/acid-base
Quality assurance
Hemoglobins
Article
January 2006
Neonatology - Get in control of fetal scalp blood sampling
Interview
Fetal scalp Blood Sampling (FBS) – not exactly wishful thinking for the mother, nor for the obstetrician? The procedure is regarded as cumbersome, the sample quality is questionable and the consequences of the result may be instrumental vaginal delivery or Cesarian Section (CS).
acutecaretesting.org has...
Preanalytical phase
Blood gases/acid-base
Neonatology
Lactate
Article
October 2005
Causes and clinical significance of increased carboxyhemoglobin
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,...
Blood gases/acid-base
Hemoglobins
Article
October 2005
Arterial blood collection: sampling and storage - part 2 of 2
The collection of arterial specimens with glass syringes
and immediate storage in iced water was the accepted industry
standard for many years. Practice has changed over the past several
years to blood gas sample collection in plastic syringes, likely
due to the cost, safety and convenience of plastic.
This change
...
Quality assurance
Blood gases/acid-base