Biochemia medica : časopis Hrvatskoga društva medicinskih biokemičara
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In a contemporary clinical laboratory it is very common to have to assess the agreement between two quantitative methods of measurement. The correct statistical approach to assess this degree of agreement is not obvious. ⋯ Data can be analyzed both as unit differences plot and as percentage differences plot. The B&A plot method only defines the intervals of agreements, it does not say whether those limits are acceptable or not. Acceptable limits must be defined a priori, based on clinical necessity, biological considerations or other goals. The aim of this article is to provide guidance on the use and interpretation of Bland Altman analysis in method comparison studies.
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Biochem Med (Zagreb) · Jan 2015
Comparative StudyCost-effectiveness analysis of acute kidney injury biomarkers in pediatric cardiac surgery.
Acute kidney injury (AKI) is significant problem in children with congenital heart disease (CHD) who undergo cardiac surgery. The economic impact of a biomarker-based diagnostic strategy for AKI in pediatric populations undergoing CHD surgery is unknown. The aim of this study was to perform the cost effectiveness analysis of using serum cystatin C (sCysC), urine neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (uNGAL) and urine liver fatty acid-binding protein (uL-FABP) for the diagnosis of AKI in children after cardiac surgery compared with current diagnostic method (monitoring of serum creatinine (sCr) level). ⋯ Our results suggest that the use of uL-FABP would represent cost effective strategy for early diagnosis of AKI in children after cardiac surgery.
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Biochem Med (Zagreb) · Jan 2015
The use of S-Monovette is effective to reduce the burden of hemolysis in a large urban emergency department.
Due to the high prevalence of hemolysis in specimens received from the emergency department (ED), several strategies have been proposed to improve sample quality, but none of these seem effective to overcome the problem. In a preliminary study we showed that the use of S-Monovette blood collection system was effective to lower the risk of hemolysis in venous blood samples collected from intravenous catheters. This study was hence aimed to verify whether the replacement of a conventional vacuum system with S-Monovette may be effective to reduce the burden of hemolysis in the daily practice of a large urban ED. ⋯ Results of our study confirm that the introduction of the Sarstedt S-Monovette blood tubes has reduced the hemolysis rate in the emergency department compared to the previously used BD Vacutainer® SST II Plus plastic serum tubes.