Annals of clinical biochemistry
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Ann. Clin. Biochem. · May 2015
Review Meta AnalysisHeart-type fatty acid binding protein in early diagnosis of myocardial infarction in the era of high-sensitivity troponin: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Heart-type fatty acid binding protein (HT FABP) is an emerging biomarker of ischaemic myocardial necrosis. While previous studies have demonstrated its additive value when compared to contemporary troponin assays in the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), its utility in the era of high-sensitivity troponin (hsTn) assays remains undetermined. ⋯ HT FABP does not appear to improve the diagnostic accuracy of hsTn, and consequently its routine use currently cannot not be recommended.
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Ann. Clin. Biochem. · May 2015
Review Case ReportsHepatocellular carcinoma in variegate porphyria: a case report and literature review.
Variegate porphyria is an autosomal dominant acute hepatic porphyria characterized by photosensitivity and acute neurovisceral attacks. Hepatocellular carcinoma has been described as a potential complication of variegate porphyria in case reports. We report a case of a 48-year-old woman who was diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma following a brief history of right upper quadrant pain which was preceded by a few months of blistering lesions in sun-exposed areas. ⋯ Retrospective and prospective cohort studies have suggested a plausible association between hepatocellular carcinoma and acute hepatic porphyrias. Hepatic porphyrias should be considered in the differential diagnoses of hepatocellular carcinoma of uncertain aetiology. Patients with known hepatic porphyrias may benefit from periodic monitoring for this complication.
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Ann. Clin. Biochem. · May 2015
Reporting standards for Bland-Altman agreement analysis in laboratory research: a cross-sectional survey of current practice.
To carry out a cross-sectional survey of the medical literature on laboratory research papers published later than 2012 and available in the common search engines (PubMed, Google Scholar) on the quality of statistical reporting of method comparison studies using Bland-Altman (B-A) analysis. ⋯ There is incomplete reporting of B-A in published clinical studies. Despite its simplicity, B-A appears not to be completely understood by researchers, reviewers and editors of journals. There appear to be differences in the reporting of B-A between laboratory medicine journals and other clinical journals. A uniform reporting of B-A method will enhance the generalizability of results.
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Ann. Clin. Biochem. · Mar 2015
Comparative StudyComparison of BD Vacutainer® Rapid Serum Tube and plasma for haemolysis markers in the emergency department.
In recent years, a rapid-clotting serum tube, BD Vacutainer® Rapid Serum Tube (RST™), was introduced to improve turn-around times for serum samples. Previous studies reported reduced concentrations of some markers of haemolysis in RST specimens compared to other serum or plasma samples. We aimed to compare RST to plasma tubes for haemolysis markers in an emergency department (ED) setting, where increased rates of haemolysis are commonly seen. ⋯ Compared to plasma, RST specimens show small increases in several haemolysis markers, consistent with known differences between serum and plasma, but the proportion of elevated haemolysis markers is similar to plasma. In a setting with a high haemolysis rate such as ED, RST specimens provide a non-inferior sample type for markers of haemolysis.
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Acute kidney injury (AKI) is frequently under-recognized and contributes to poor outcomes. Electronic alerts (e-alerts) to highlight AKI based on changes in serum creatinine may facilitate earlier recognition and treatment, and sophisticated algorithms for AKI detection have been proposed or implemented elsewhere. However, many laboratories currently lack the resources or capability to replicate these systems. ⋯ This study demonstrates that a simple automated delta check can detect and flag AKI in real time, continuously, at little extra cost and without manual input.