Indian journal of pediatrics
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Comparative Study
A comparative study on reliability of point of care sodium and potassium estimation in a pediatric intensive care unit.
To compare sodium and potassium levels in children as done with Blood Gas Analyzer (BGA) at point of care testing in pediatric ICU vs. that done in laboratory electrolyte analyzer. ⋯ Blood gas analyzers underestimates Na + and K + values if sampling is done using liquid sodium heparin and if all other potential pre-analytical errors of testing are taken care of. The Bland Altman's analysis in the present study showed a significant systematic bias and very wide limits of agreement for both sodium and potassium, which is not clinically acceptable.