Polskie Archiwum Medycyny Wewnętrznej
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Pol. Arch. Med. Wewn. · Mar 2024
Practical approach to a patient with a fever after travelling to the tropics.
By 2030, an estimated 2 billion international tourist trips are expected annually worldwide, with citizens of Poland as important contributors. Illness rates among returnees from developing regions range between 43% and 79%. Properly diagnosing fever in these travelers is vital due to potentially serious implications. ⋯ Other significant diseases include chikungunya, Zika, typhoid fever, amebic liver abscess, and occasionally viral hemorrhagic fevers. SARS‑CoV‑2 and influenza viruses are crucial pathogens as well. An in‑depth assessment of the travel history, combined with knowledge on tropical diseases, are key to the diagnostic process, and algorithms may be helpful in selecting appropriate tests and treatment methods.
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Pol. Arch. Med. Wewn. · Mar 2024
Unfractionated heparin: optimizing laboratory monitoring and reducing unwanted interference in everyday hemostasis test practice.
Unfractionated heparin (UFH) serves as a commonly used anticoagulant. It is widely utilized for a variety of reasons, including to 1) anticoagulate patients and help treat and / or prevent thrombosis, 2) maintain patency in artificial blood flow circuits, and 3) anticoagulate blood samples collected for laboratory testing (typically for biochemical assays or blood gas analysis). ⋯ Therefore, in laboratory practice, UFH may be present in samples intended for monitoring patients on UFH therapy or intended for biochemical tests, or it may interfere with other (hemostasis) laboratory tests. The aim of this manuscript is to review the role of UFH from the perspective of optimizing laboratory testing to monitor UFH therapy and to avoid or overcome unwanted interference with other laboratory tests.