Archives of pathology & laboratory medicine
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Arch. Pathol. Lab. Med. · Feb 2007
Effects of a pneumatic tube system on routine and novel hematology and coagulation parameters in healthy volunteers.
Technologic advances affecting analyzers used in clinical laboratories have changed the methods used to obtain many laboratory measurements, and many novel parameters are now available. The effects of specimen transport through a pneumatic tube system on laboratory results obtained with such modern instruments are unclear. ⋯ Although further study regarding the mean platelet component may be required, transport through a pneumatic tube system has no clinically significant effect on hematology and coagulation results obtained with certain modern instruments in blood samples from healthy volunteers.
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Arch. Pathol. Lab. Med. · Nov 2006
Effect of fondaparinux on coagulation assays: results of College of American Pathologists proficiency testing.
Fondaparinux, a factor Xa inhibitor, is approved for thromboprophylaxis after orthopedic surgery and for treatment of venous thromboembolism. It may also be efficacious, safe, and cost-effective for other patients; thus, more widespread use of fondaparinux is likely. The effect of fondaparinux on coagulation testing needs to be thoroughly examined. ⋯ Fondaparinux, even in prophylactic doses, slightly prolongs the prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time and can interfere with factor VIII assays, but it has no clinically relevant effect on fibrinogen, antithrombin, or thrombin time. A fondaparinux standard curve should be used for reporting fondaparinux levels using an anti-factor Xa assay.
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Arch. Pathol. Lab. Med. · Oct 2006
Comparative StudyThe variability of results between point-of-care testing glucose meters and the central laboratory analyzer.
Point-of-care testing glucose meters are strongly recommended in the management of diabetes and are increasingly being used for making therapeutically important decisions. Thus, it is essential that their results correlate well with those of laboratory analyzers. ⋯ One should scrutinize point-of-care testing glucose meter readings at the hypoglycemic and hyperglycemic levels and whenever possible to corroborate these clinical results with central laboratory analyzers.
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Arch. Pathol. Lab. Med. · Sep 2006
Comparative StudyCombination of D-dimer and amino-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic Peptide testing for the evaluation of dyspneic patients with and without acute pulmonary embolism.
D-dimer concentration can be used to exclude a diagnosis of acute pulmonary embolism. However, clinicians frequently order unnecessary supplemental testing in patients with low concentrations of D-dimer. Elevations in natriuretic peptides have also been described in the setting of pulmonary embolism. ⋯ The Roche Tina-quant D-Dimer immunoturbidimetric assay provides a high negative predictive value and can be used to exclude acute pulmonary embolism in patients with dyspnea. Measurement of amino-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide in addition to D-dimer improves specificity for acute pulmonary embolism without sacrificing negative predictive value. A combination of both markers may offer reassurance for excluding acute pulmonary embolism, and thus avoid redundant, expensive confirmatory tests.
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Arch. Pathol. Lab. Med. · Aug 2006
Implementation of a redistribution system for near-outdate red blood cell units.
Many remote hospitals keep small on-site stocks of red blood cell (RBC) units for emergency use and to support patient care programs. In Canada, the blood supplier does not accept returned units into inventory. Discard rates can, therefore, be high. ⋯ Redistribution systems can be an effective way to reduce RBC unit discard rates. Even simple transportation systems have many factors affecting the RBC unit temperature. Novel temperature stabilizing materials may make future transportation of RBC units more reliable.