BACKGROUND Point-of-care (POC) C-reactive protein (CRP) testing is increasingly used in primary care to assist general practitioners (GPs) in the diagnostic workup for various complaints. The present study compares analytical performance, agreement and user-friendliness of five of these POC CRP tests. METHODS The following five POC CRP tests were evaluated: Afinion and NycoCard Reader II (bot...

Large-eddy simulations of a pocket of open cells (POC) based on VOCALS Regional Experiment (REx) NSF C-130 Research Flight 06 are analyzed and compared with aircraft observations. A doubly-periodic domain 192 km× 24 km with 125 m horizontal and 5 m vertical grid spacing near the capping inversion is used. The POC is realized in the model as a fixed 96 km wide region of reduced cloud droplet num...

BACKGROUND In clinical trials, the potential of point-of-care (POC) C-reactive protein (CRP) tests was demonstrated in decreasing antibiotic prescribing in adults with acute cough in general practice, but effects of implementation are unknown. OBJECTIVE To determine the overall effect of POC CRP testing on antibiotic prescribing rate in general practice. METHODS In an observational study, G...

Large-eddy simulations of a pocket of open cells (POC) based on VOCALS Regional Experiment (REx) Research Flight 06 are analyzed and compared with aircraft observations. A doubly-periodic domain 192 km×24 km with 125 m horizontal resolution and 5 m vertical resolution near the capping inversion is used. The POC is realized in the model as a fixed 96 km wide region of reduced cloud droplet numbe...

BACKGROUND : Allergy is a serious problem affecting approximately 1 of 4 individuals. The symptoms with and without allergy etiology are often difficult to distinguish from each other without using an IgE antibody test. The aim of this study was to investigate the performance of a new point-of-care (POC) test for IgE antibodies to relevant allergens in Europe. METHODS : IgE antibodies from ch...

BACKGROUND Pentalogy of Cantrell (POC) is an extremely rare and complex congenital anomaly. Ultrasound is a valuable, safe, nonionizing, cost effective, widely available, and easily reproducible imaging tool and is indispensible in the diagnosis of POC. Despite the rarity of POC, it is imperative for a radiologist to be aware of its wide spectrum of presentation on ultrasound in first trimester...

BACKGROUND Clinical microbiology may direct decisions regarding hospitalization, isolation and anti-infective therapy, but it is not effective at the time of early care. Point-of-care (POC) tests have been developed for this purpose. METHODS AND FINDINGS One pilot POC-lab was located close to the core laboratory and emergency ward to test the proof of concept. A second POC-lab was located ins...

Background: Human papillomavirus is the most prevalent sexually transmitted infection in the United States and is associated with 70% of cervical cancers as well as over 90% of genital warts. Although the HPV vaccine appears in the US immunization schedule during adolescence, a large percentage of women reach adulthood without being vaccinated. The Transtheoretical Model’s (TTM) Processes of Ch...

A lthough most diabetes management guidelines (1–3) suggest that physicians measure A1C, it is extremely difficult to have results available before a physician’s evaluation of the patient. As such, point-of-care (POC) A1C is thought to be useful since it is assumed that rapid result availability will enhance diabetes care by increasing education and ensuring appropriate changes to therapy while...

A long time-series study was conducted over 15 yr (1989–2004) to measure particulate organic carbon (POC) flux as an estimate of food supply reaching .4,000-m depth in the northeast Pacific. Sequencing sediment traps were moored at 3,500-and 4,050-m depth, 600 and 50 m above the seafloor, respectively, to collect sinking particulate matter with 10-d resolution. POC fluxes were compared with thr...