No history of the development of blood gas analysis and its application in clinical and physiology research would be complete without consideration of the pioneering work of anesthesiologist researcher Dr John Severinghaus.  As a young research fellow in the 1950s he developed the Stow-Severinghaus-type carbon dioxide ...

As a global marker of tissue oxygenation serum lactate measurement has proven its usefulness in monitoring the critically ill. It has also proved useful as a screening tool for sepsis in the emergency room.  However, lactate measurement is not always readily available. Increased lactate is a common cause of raised...

Sepsis and septic shock lead to local and systemic activation of different response systems, including coagulation and fibrinolysis.  Despite numerous attempts the high mortality rate of these patients has remained stable over the last 20 years. In this overview the pathophysiological insights and possible...

Sensitivity and specificity define the discriminative power of a diagnostic procedure, whereas predictive values relate to the predictive ability of a test to identify disease or its absence in individuals.  Predictive values are greatly influenced by the prevalence of the disease and should not be generalized beyond ...

Pleural effusion, defined as excess fluid in the pleural space, can complicate the course of a large and pathologically diverse range of pulmonary and non-pulmonary diseases. Laboratory analysis of pleural fluid provides much useful information for the clinician whose diagnostic challenge is the patient presenting...

Troponin values above the 99th percentile and increasing/falling values found by serial testing in addition to signs and symptoms of myocardial ischemia means AMI. Low troponin values, near or below the 99th percentile, can be used for prognosis. Highest hazard ratios were found when using the 90th percentile,...

The anion gap (AG) is a calculated parameter derived from measured serum/plasma electrolyte concentrations. The clinical value of this calculated parameter is the main focus of this article. Both increased and reduced anion gap have clinical significance, but the deviation from normal that has most clinical...

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...

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...