Metabolic alkalosis, a disturbance of acid-base homeostasis, with many possible causes, is characterized by a primary increase in blood pH and bicarbonate (HCO₃). Hypoventilation is the compensatory respiratory response to metabolic alkalosis that results in increased pCO₂. The often complex nature of the etiology of...

Ensuring adequate oxygen delivery to tissues is a prime objective of acute/critical medical care. There is no routinely available method for directly monitoring tissue oxygenation; instead clinicians must depend on available indirect measures. Although not the only factor to be considered, measurement of the amount of ...

The use of natriuretic peptides like B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and N-terminal proBNP (NT-proBNP) has increased during the last decade and so has the medical evidence of their utility. This article highlights natriuretic peptide synthesis and release. Based on essential clinical trials the article gives medical...

Reprinted from Ann Lab Med 2013 Sep; 33(5):309-18. Christenson E, Christenson RH: "The role of cardiac biomarkers in the diagnosis and management of patients presenting with suspected acute coronary syndrome". Myocardial infarction (MI) is the leading cause of death in the developed world. Biomarkers have an...

Routine laboratory assessment of renal function depends on estimating glomerular filtration rate from serum creatinine concentration. Serum creatinine concentration is age- and gender-dependent. A recently published study aimed to establish age-stratified and gender-specific reference intervals for serum creatinine...

Reduced blood glucose concentration (hypoglycemia) is one of the most common metabolic problems during the neonatal period. It may cause acute non-specific symptoms that include altered level of consciousness, feeding difficulties, seizures and even coma.  Irrespective of the presence or absence of acute symptoms,...

Metformin is a widely prescribed oral antihyperglycemic drug for the long-term treatment of type 2 diabetes. It is considered a first-line drug treatment for those diabetic patients whose blood glucose remains uncontrolled by dietary and other lifestyle interventions. In addition to this established use, metformin has ...

The general truth that disturbance of acid-base homeostasis and associated abnormal blood gas results can be caused by drugs – both those prescribed and those bought over the counter, as well as those used illicitly – is reflected in a recent review article.  Metabolic alkalosis, an acid-base disturbance characterized ...

Plasma bicarbonate concentration (HCO₃^-), an essential parameter for the assessment of patient acid-base status, is routinely generated during blood gas analysis by calculation from measured pH and pCO₂. It is also directly measured by chemical analyzers in clinical laboratories that offer bicarbonate as one component ...

Fast, accurate blood gas testing is a critical component to managing the post isolated coronary artery bypass (ISO-CAB) patient in the hospital intensive care unit/coronary care Unit (ICU/CCU). Post ISO-CAB patients are admitted to the ICU/CCU after surgery mechanically ventilated. Evidence-based medicine supports...