In high-level athletes preparation, using point-of-care testing (POCT) in sports-specific environments, we tried to define and control the levels of exercise intensities (“energy training zones”), to quantify metabolic functionality (sports-specific energy sources, baseline conditions, functional costs of exercise in...

With increasing age, an unspecific rise of fibrin degradation product in blood is observed. Thus, the D-dimer test to rule out thromboembolic events has a high false positive rate in elderly patients. In 2010, Douma et al introduced a formula to adjust D-dimer cut-off values for age in outpatients >50 years: Age ×...

D-dimers are protein products of cross-linked fibrin degradation that are present in the blood of most healthy individuals in only negligible amounts (of the order 100-200 ng/mL). As objective evidence of increased fibrinolysis, elevated blood concentration of D-dimer is by extension evidence of intravascular...

Increased plasma sodium concentration (hypernatremia) acquired after admission to intensive care increases the risk that critically ill patients will not survive their illness. That is the headline finding of a recently published study of ~200,000 critically patients cared for in 344 intensive care units across the US ...

Blood lactate concentration, a parameter often available at the point of care on blood gas analyzers, is useful for assessment of global tissue oxygenation among acutely/critically ill patients. The ”gold standard” sample for this assessment, as for blood gas analysis, is arterial blood.  Sampling of venous blood is...

The notion that acid-base and potassium homeostasis are linked is well known. Students of laboratory medicine will learn that in general acidemia (reduced blood pH) is associated with increased plasma potassium concentration (hyperkalemia), whilst alkalemia (increased blood pH) is associated with reduced plasma...

Article reprinted with permission from NP Communications LLC/Medical Laboratory Observer, September 2013. Laboratorians responsible for arterial blood gas testing are focusing on sample integrity, operator safety, data accuracy, and workflow efficiency.  

How do errors occur in the laboratory and what can we do to prevent errors? Any test can and will fail if incorrectly performed or operated under the wrong conditions. The role of the laboratory director is to determine those conditions and to understand test limitations in order to prevent laboratory errors....

Recently developed high-sensitivity cardiac troponin (cTn) assays can measure approximately 10 times lower concentrations with high precision (coefficient of variation, <10 % at the 99th percentile of the upper reference limit) than conventional assays, and can measure cTn concentrations in at least 50 % of a reference ...

In a regional top-management decision, our laboratory was given the mission to control and quality assure all POCT activities in a regional network of 10 hospitals with emergency units. Based on previous work, new region-wide recommendations, procurements,  IT connectivity, services, training, accreditation (ISO...