The field of point-of-care testing (POCT) is entering a period of rapid expansion. This expansion is being driven by new evidence for clinical effectiveness of POCT, and new technologies that allow consolidation of testing onto smaller platforms. Technological improvements will also lead to increased accuracy for...

Patients with heart failure (HF) experience significant morbidity and mortality and those admitted for acute decompensated HF are at particularly high risk for adverse events. Hospitalization represents the major component of the high cost associated with the management of patients with HF. Accordingly, early and...

Although transfusion of donated blood can be life saving, it is a procedure associated with considerable potential risk to the recipient patient. As with any medical treatment or procedure the decision to prescribe donated blood must be made after assessment of the balance between benefit and risk for that particular...

The incidence and significance of hypernatremia (raised plasma sodium) acquired during critical illness is the subject of a recently published retrospective study conducted at the combined medical and surgical intensive care unit of a Brisbane hospital where plasma sodium of all patients is regularly monitored...

Close to 20 % of those suffering significant trauma develop thrombocytosis (raised platelet count) in the days and weeks following injury. Although this thrombocytosis is associated with increased risk of complications during recovery, it is also associated with decreased risk of death and thus may have overall...

Transitory hyperglycemia (raised blood glucose) is a common feature of critical illness that was once viewed as a benign effect that could be safely left untreated, unless it was particularly severe.  This traditional attitude to hyperglycemia in the critically ill changed dramatically in 2001 with the publication of...

This is the second of two articles focusing on the reference interval, the most widely used tool for interpretation of patient test results.  The first [1] was an introduction to the theoretical concepts that underpin the significance, construction and use of reference intervals. Here consideration is given to the...

As point-of-care applications of lab testing demand more rapid and clinically integrated order entry and results-reporting processes, it becomes paramount for the laboratory to investigate entire clinical processes. Direct observation and process mapping of these clinical applications – end to end - are "lean" tools...

Applications of point-of-care testing (POCT) for diagnostic biomarker measurement in healthcare have increased significantly in recent years in a wide range of clinical scenarios. These include infectious disease, critical care, cardiology and other areas of emergency medicine. Traditionally, routine clinical...

Timely and accurate diagnosis of sepsis is of great importance for the choice of treatment, level of monitoring and prognosis. For this biomarkers could be a significant aid, and thus the search for and application of sepsis biomarkers are of great importance.  Current evidence suggests that C-reactive protein and...