Clinical biochemistry
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Clinical biochemistry · Dec 2015
ReviewInterventions at the laboratory level to reduce laboratory test ordering by family physicians: Systematic review.
To assess the effectiveness of interventions by laboratories and to increase rational and reduce unnecessary family physician test ordering. ⋯ Ten studies were identified which tested interventions by laboratories to reduce test ordering by family physicians, and achieved an average 35% reduction in the 19 targeted tests. The rationale for choosing specific tests for intervention was often not explained, most studies targeted a few tests for several months, the tests and test volumes differed widely across studies, no author improved the results of previous interventions or asked participants their opinions about the intervention or assessed factors impeding change.
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Clinical biochemistry · Dec 2015
Observational StudyThe utility of presentation and 4-hour high sensitivity troponin I to rule-out acute myocardial infarction in the emergency department.
International guidance recommends that early serial sampling of high sensitivity troponin be used to accurately identify acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in chest pain patients. The background evidence for this approach is limited. We evaluated whether on presentation and 4-hour high-sensitivity troponin I (hs-cTnI) could be used to accurately rule-out AMI. ⋯ Hs-cTnI >99th percentile thresholds measured on presentation and at 4-hours was not a safe strategy to rule-out AMI in this clinical setting irrespective of whether sex-specific 99th percentiles were used, or whether hs-cTnI was combined with ECG results.
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Clinical biochemistry · Dec 2015
Analytical performance of the Abaxis Piccolo Xpress® point of care analyzer in whole blood, serum, and plasma.
To examine the analytical performance of 14 comprehensive metabolic panel analytes on the Abaxis Piccolo Xpress® Point of Care analyzer in serum, plasma, and whole blood. ⋯ The Piccolo Xpress® allows for the delivery of CMP results in a footprint small enough to be stored in a biological safety cabinet, while providing satisfactory performance for the majority of analytes.
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Clinical biochemistry · Dec 2015
Urokinase plasminogen activator receptor and its soluble form in common biopsy-proven kidney diseases and in staging of diabetic nephropathy.
Soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR), derived from membrane bound uPAR, is associated with inflammatory diseases. In the present study, we explored the expression of uPAR/suPAR in common biopsy-proven kidney diseases and the relationship between suPAR and staging of type 2 diabetic nephropathy (DN). ⋯ We concluded that uPAR/suPAR is elevated in most kidney diseases and that suPAR is a useful biomarker for assessing stages of DN.
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Clinical biochemistry · Dec 2015
Evaluation of a particle enhanced turbidimetric assay for the measurement of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin in plasma and urine on Architect-8000: Analytical performance and establishment of reference values.
Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) is a promising biomarker for acute kidney injury. NGAL can be measured in both blood and urine. Apart from kidney injury, NGAL levels in both plasma and urine can be influenced by various pathological situations. Accurate evaluation and comparison of results deriving from clinical studies require robust assays, appropriate specimen handling and reference intervals that will reflect its levels in a healthy population for both biological matrices. ⋯ Our data indicate that NGAL can be measured with adequate precision and sensitivity on automated biochemistry analyzers and its measurement could easily be added to a standard panel to screen kidney diseases.