Annals of clinical biochemistry
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Ann. Clin. Biochem. · Nov 2009
Assessment of glomerular filtration rate by serum cystatin C in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting.
Assessment of renal function in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is important. Cystatin C has been proposed as an improved indicator of renal function. The aim of this study was to assess cystatin C as an early marker of changes in glomerular filtration rate (GFR) after CABG. ⋯ Cystatin C is a better marker for detecting small temporary changes of GFR in CABG patients. This may allow better identification of patients with renal impairment.
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Ann. Clin. Biochem. · Nov 2009
Intravenous fluid therapy - an under-recognized patient safety opportunity.
Inappropriate fluid regimens are rarely documented as being responsible for patient harm, although there is considerable circumstantial evidence to suggest that fluid overload may be a considerably under-estimated source of patient morbidity and mortality. The GIFTASUP fluid management guidelines published in 2008 offer a valuable opportunity to consider a more standardised approach to fluid management, possibly in the context of developing routine hospital services to support good practice.
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Ann. Clin. Biochem. · Sep 2009
Randomized Controlled TrialDesign, implementation and results of the quality control program for the Australian government's point of care testing in general practice trial.
From 2005 to 2007 the Australian Government funded a multicentre, clustered randomized controlled trial to determine the clinical effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, satisfaction and safety of point of care testing (PoCT) in general practice (GP). PoC tests measured (and devices used) in the trial were haemoglobin A1c and urine albumin:creatinine ratio (DCA 2000), lipids (Cholestech LDX) and international normalized ratio (CoaguChek S). ⋯ Results from QC testing indicate that PoCT in the GP trial met the analytical goals set for the trial, with the exception of HDL-C.
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Ann. Clin. Biochem. · Mar 2009
The rise and fall of C-reactive protein: managing demand within clinical biochemistry.
Managing workload within the laboratory has become a key role for clinical biochemists. National benchmarking data highlighted a 31% increase in C-reactive protein (CRP) requests between 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 for the University Hospital of North Staffordshire (UHNS). The aim of this study was to examine CRP requesting patterns within the acute admissions units. ⋯ This study has demonstrated that strategies to control demand at the requesting stage have been able to reduce the number of requests from acute admission units. This study forms the basis for ongoing work on inappropriate requesting and illustrates that the introduction of agreed protocols in acute settings can be used as a demand-management tool.