Laboratory medicine
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Laboratory medicine · Jan 2020
False-Negative Urine Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Testing in the Clinical Laboratory.
Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) assays are used to detect pregnancy, and urine point-of-care tests are frequently used to triage patients. Under certain conditions, urine tests can fail to detect pregnancy, which can have serious consequences for patient management. ⋯ Although false-negative urine hCG test results are rare, understanding the commonly encountered reasons for inaccurate testing results can help clinical centers develop strategies to minimize risk for patients.
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Laboratory medicine · Oct 2019
Comparative StudyIntraoperative Monitoring of Heparin: Comparison of Activated Coagulation Time and Whole Blood Heparin Measurements by Different Point-of-Care Devices with Heparin Concentration by Laboratory-Performed Plasma Anti-Xa Assay.
Cardiac surgical interventions, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, transcutaneous coronary-artery angioplasty, and stenting are carried out while patients are being treated with the anticoagulation drug heparin. Monitoring the level and reversal of heparinization during and at the conclusion of medical and surgical procedures is a critical issue in patient care. ⋯ ACT monitoring with iSTAT offers good correlation between instruments and with the Hepcon ACT. Hepcon occupies a specific niche in cardiac operating departments because of its ability to provide additional information regarding heparin concentration; however, lack of suitable proficiency testing may impair its use. The iSTAT is a more reliable platform for broader, hospital-wide application.
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Laboratory medicine · Oct 2019
A Prospective Study of Presepsin as an Indicator of the Severity of Community-Acquired Pneumonia in Emergency Departments: Comparison with Pneumonia Severity Index and CURB-65 Scores.
Despite widely used severity indices such as the pneumonia severity index (PSI) and CURB-65, a rapid, easy-to-detect biological marker is required for assessment of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) severity. We aimed to investigate the ability of presepsin to differentiate between high- and low-risk patients, categorized according to PSI and CURB-65 scores. This prospective study was performed in an emergency department (ED) with 90 CAP patients. ⋯ Presepsin levels were significantly higher in CAP patients with the high-score groups compared to the corresponding low-score groups. Presepsin correlated well with low- and high-score PSI (ROC AUC: presepsin, 0.726; PCT, 0.614; CRP, 0.544) and CURB-65 groups (ROC AUC: presepsin, 0.669; PCT, 0.645; CRP, 0.602). Presepsin is a valuable biomarker for assessing and classifying CAP severity.
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Laboratory medicine · Mar 2018
Decreased Serum Levels of Ghrelin and Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor in Premenopausal Women With Metabolic Syndrome.
We aimed to investigate the association between serum levels of ghrelin and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) with MetS and its components in premenopausal women. ⋯ The findings indicate that variations occur in the circulating level of ghrelin and BDNF proteins in MetS patients. A strong correlation between serum ghrelin and BDNF suggests that production, release or practice of these 2 proteins might be related mechanically.