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...

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...

Clinical initiatives to maintain blood glucose (BG) within a more normal range have emerged over the last decade as a growing trend in clinical management of patients in acute care settings. This trend has grown due to the increased focus of research in glycemic control (GC) and results indicating that GC is...

When blood gas analysis reveals a reduced pO₂(a) in a patient without any immediate clinical evidence of hypoxemia, consideration should be given to the possibility that the result is falsely low, allowing a diagnosis of spurious or pseudo-hypoxemia.  Technical deficiencies (e.g. sampling of venous rather than...

The introduction of new clinical procedures may have unanticipated adverse effects. The rising incidence of nosocomial infection has highlighted a critical need for effective hand hygiene among healthcare workers. During the past five years there has been increasing acceptance by health authorities of the...

The standard sample for measurement of blood gases is arterial blood. Arterial puncture is painful and, because of inherent dangers, is usually only performed by qualified medical staff. Arterialized earlobe capillary blood sampling provides a less painful and safer alternative, which can be reliably performed after...

In health, plasma potassium is maintained within the range of 3.5-5.2 mmol/L. Marked increase in potassium level (> 6.5 mmol/L) is considered a clinical emergency because it is associated with high risk of cardiac arrhythmia and, ultimately, cardiac arrest. Collective clinical experience suggests that in the absence...

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...

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...

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...