BACKGROUND Urine dipstick testing for ketones is widely used when diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is suspected in patients with hyperglycaemia. If urinary ketones are positive, patients are referred for further management--often inappropriately, as the test is a poor surrogate for plasma ketones. Plasma beta-hydroxybutyrate (β-OHB) levels>3 mmol/L are diagnostic of DKA, while levels<1 mmol/L are in...

Point-of-care testing (POCT) of coagulation parameters can help optimize transfusion practice in cardiac surgery. Antifibrinolytic agents may interfere with the laboratory and/or POCT coagulation assays. This randomized controlled study compared coagulation parameters obtained from a whole blood POCT coagulation device with a typical laboratory instrument in cardiac surgery patients receiving a...

BACKGROUND In the 1992-1996 period Methodist Clinical Laboratory Services of the Methodist Health Group, Indianapolis, was restructuring all work processes. In one initiative, point-of-care testing (POCT) was used to optimize the decision cycle time while reducing the overall cost of providing information. DEVELOPING THE COMPARATIVE MODEL: In a typical month (May 1994) for hospital admissions a...

BACKGROUND Early initiation of antiviral therapy in elderly patients with influenza is associated with reduced risk of extra clinic visit, hospitalization and death. This study examined the cost-effectiveness of molecular POCT for detection of influenza viruses in Hong Kong elderly patients with influenza-like illness (ILI) in the outpatient clinics. METHODS A decision analytic model was used...

Pharmacists and Point-of-Care Testing Technology has advanced sufficiently to allow the assessment of laboratory tests at the point of-care delivery through various point-of-care testing (POCT) kits. An ever-expanding number of tests are becoming available for use outside the laboratory setting. Pharmacists were early adopters of POCT by offering pregnancy testing when the technology made it po...

Point-of-care testing (POCT) is usually more expensive on a unit-cost basis than testing performed in a central laboratory. It is difficult to manage POCT and to maintain regulatory compliance, especially in large institutions. However, some POCT technologies have improved patient outcomes (patient self-glucose monitoring in the home, tight glycemic control in intensive care settings) or hospit...

Access to point-of-care testing (POCT) improves patient care, especially in resource-limited settings where laboratory infrastructure is poor and the bulk of the population lives in rural settings. However, because of challenges in rolling out the technology and weak quality assurance measures, the promise of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related POCT in resource-limited settings has not b...

Introduction. Patients with symptoms suggestive of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) have various medical backgrounds and different stages of underlying coronary disease. Hence, patients entering the emergency room (ER) with ACS suggestive symptoms, present a challenge to emergency physicians. We hypothesized that a point-of-care test (POCT) for multiple cardiac biomarkers can be used as a prognost...

OBJECTIVES HIV prevalence among people who inject drugs (PWID) in Ottawa is estimated at about 10%. The successful integration of peers into outreach efforts and wider access to HIV point-of-care testing (POCT) create opportunities to explore the role of peers in providing HIV testing. The PROUD study, in partnership with Ottawa Public Health (OPH), sought to develop a model for community-based...

Use of A1c POCT offers additional utility; immediate A1c values help verify the accuracy of the self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) results that patients present in the clinic. This is particularly important when patients do not bring their log books or meters into the clinic. The availability of immediate A1c testing allows clinicians to expedite results to patients and readily change trea...