scholarly journals Biomarker Diagnostics in Acute Cardiac and Noncardiac Dyspnea: Is There a Role for Point-of-Care Testing?

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Dirk Peetz

The use of biomarkers in acute chest pain and dyspnea is well established and point-of-care testing (POCT) is increasingly used in emergency departments and chest pain units for this purpose. However, few data give evidence that POCT has advantages for the patient or the medical process over central laboratory testing. Especially for troponin testing in patients with myocardial infarction, the newest guidelines define prerequisites on diagnostic test quality which most POC assays do not fulfill. Additionally, no data are available showing that POCT has relevant effect on a change of physician’s diagnostic and therapeutic thinking compared to laboratory testing. Regarding patient outcomes and societal costs, central laboratory testing seems to be even superior to POCT. The main limit of currently available POC troponin assays is the higher limit of detection and higher imprecision compared to the new high sensitive laboratory assays. However, new upcoming POC technologies may perform comparable to today’s laboratory analyzers.

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 238146831985630
Author(s):  
Reed Harder ◽  
Keji Wei ◽  
Vikrant Vaze ◽  
James E. Stahl

Background. In response to demand for fast and efficient clinical testing, the use of point-of-care testing (POCT) has become increasingly common in the United States. However, studies of POCT implementation have found that adopting POCT may not always be advantageous relative to centralized laboratory testing. Methods. We construct a simulation model of patient flow in an outpatient care setting to evaluate tradeoffs involved in POCT implementation across multiple dimensions, comparing measures of patient outcomes in varying clinical scenarios, testing regimes, and patient conditions. Results. We find that POCT can significantly reduce clinical time for patients, as compared to traditional testing regimes, in settings where clinic and central testing areas are far apart. However, as distance from clinic to central testing area decreased, POCT advantage over central laboratory testing also decreased, in terms of time in the clinical system and estimated subsequent productivity loss. For example, testing for pneumonia resulted in an estimated average of 27.80 (central lab) versus 15.50 (POCT) total lost productive hours in a rural scenario, and an average of 14.92 (central lab) versus 15.50 (POCT) hours in a hospital-based scenario. Conclusions. Our results show that POCT can effectively reduce the average time a patient spends in the system for varying condition profiles and clinical scenarios. However, the number of total lost productive hours, a more holistic measure, is greatly affected by testing quality, where POCT often is at a disadvantage. Thus, it is important to consider factors such as clinical setting, target condition, testing costs, and test quality when selecting appropriate testing regime.


2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 218-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jung Hee Han ◽  
Seongsoo Jang ◽  
Mi-Ok Choi ◽  
Mi-Jeong Yoon ◽  
Seung-Bok Lim ◽  
...  

Background: The confirmation of prothrombin time international normalized ratio by a central laboratory often delays intravenous thrombolysis in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Objectives: We investigated the feasibility, reliability, and usefulness of point-of-care determination of prothrombin time international normalized ratio for stroke thrombolysis. Methods: Among 312 patients with ischemic stroke, 202 who arrived at the emergency room within 4.5 h of stroke onset were enrolled in the study. Patients with lost orders for point-of-care testing for the prothrombin time international normalized ratio or central laboratory testing for the prothrombin time international normalized ratio (n = 47) were excluded. We compared international normalized ratio values and the time interval from arrival to the report of test results (door-to-international normalized ratio time) between point-of-care testing for the prothrombin time international normalized ratio and central laboratory testing for the prothrombin time international normalized ratio. In patients who underwent thrombolysis, we compared the time interval from arrival to thrombolysis (door-to-needle time) between the current study population and historic cohort at our center. Results: In the 155 patients included in the study, the median door-to-international normalized ratio time was 9.0 min (interquartile range, 5.0–12.0 min) for point-of-care testing for the prothrombin time international normalized ratio and 46.0 min (interquartile range, 38.0–55.0 min) for central laboratory testing for the prothrombin time international normalized ratio (p < 0.001). The intraclass correlation coefficient between point-of-care testing for the prothrombin time international normalized ratio and central laboratory testing for the prothrombin time international normalized ratio was 0.975 (95% confidence interval: 0.966–0.982). Forty-nine of the 155 patients underwent intravenous thrombolysis. The door-to-needle time was significantly decreased after implementation of point-of-care testing for the prothrombin time international normalized ratio (median, 23.0 min; interquartile range, 16.0–29.8 vs median, 46.0 min; interquartile range, 33.5–50.5 min). Conclusion: Utilization of point-of-care testing for the prothrombin time international normalized ratio was feasible in the management of patients with acute ischemic stroke. Point-of-care testing for the prothrombin time international normalized ratio was quick and reliable and had a pivotal role in expediting thrombolysis.


Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 1796
Author(s):  
Miroslav Pohanka ◽  
Jitka Zakova

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) can serve as biochemical markers of various pathologies like liver disfunction and poisonings by nerve agents. Ellman’s assay is the standard spectrophotometric method to measure cholinesterase activity in clinical laboratories. The authors present a new colorimetric test to assess AChE and BChE activity in biological samples using chromogenic reagents, treated 3D-printed measuring pads and a smartphone camera as a signal detector. Multiwell pads treated with reagent substrates 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenyl acetate, indoxylacetate, ethoxyresorufin and methoxyresorufin were prepared and tested for AChE and BChE. In the experiments, 3D-printed pads containing indoxylacetate as a chromogenic substrate were optimal for analytical purposes. The best results were achieved using the red (R) channel, where the limit of detection was 4.05 µkat/mL for BChE and 4.38 µkat/mL for AChE using a 40 µL sample and a 60 min assay. The major advantage of this method is its overall simplicity, as samples are applied directly without any specific treatment or added reagents. The assay was also validated to the standard Ellman’s assay using human plasma samples. In conclusion, this smartphone camera-based colorimetric assay appears to have practical applicability and to be a suitable method for point-of-care testing because it does not require specific manipulation, additional education of staff or use of sophisticated analytical instruments.


Author(s):  
Chin-Pin Yeo ◽  
Carol Hui-Chen Tan ◽  
Edward Jacob

Background Point-of-care-testing (POCT) of haemoglobin Alc (HbA1c) is popular due to its fast turnaround of results in the outpatient setting. The aim of this project was to evaluate the performance of a new HbA1c POCT analyser, the Bio-Rad in2it, and compare it with the Siemens DCA 2000, Bio-Rad Variant II and Roche Tina-quant HbA1c Gen 2 assay on the cobas c501. Methods Imprecision of the four methods were compared by computing total imprecision from within-run and between-run data. A total of 80 samples were also compared and analysed by Deming regression and Altman–Bland difference test. Results Study of total imprecision of the in2it at HBA1c levels of 6.0% and 10.4% produced a coefficient of variation (%CV) of 3.8% and 3.7%, respectively. These results were more favourable as compared with the DCA 2000 but did not match the low imprecision of the central laboratory methods, the Bio-Rad Variant II and the Roche cobas c501. Comparison between the in2it and the central laboratory analysers, Bio-Rad variant II and cobas c501, revealed positive bias of 12% and 10%, respectively, supported by corresponding Deming regression equation slopes of +1.18 and +1.14. Comparison between the DCA 2000 and the central laboratory analysers revealed a bias that became increasingly positive with rising HbA1c concentrations with Deming regression analysis also revealing proportional and constant differences. Conclusions The in2it is a suitable POCT analyser for HbA1c but its less than ideal precision performance and differences with the central laboratory analysers must be communicated to and noted by the users.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Binfeng Yin ◽  
Xinhua Wan ◽  
Mingzhu Yang ◽  
Changcheng Qian ◽  
A S M Muhtasim Fuad Sohan

Abstract Background: Simultaneous and timely detection of C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) provides effective information for the accurate diagnosis of infections. Early diagnosis and classification of infections increase the cure rate while decreasing complications, which is significant for severe infections, especially for war surgery. However, traditional methods rely on laborious operations and bulky devices. On the other hand, point-of-care (POC) methods suffer from limited robustness and accuracy. Therefore, it is of urgent demand to develop POC devices for rapid and accurate diagnosis of infections to fulfill on-site militarized requirements.Methods: We developed a wave-shaped microfluidic chip (WMC) assisted multiplexed detection platform (WMC-MDP). WMC-MDP reduces detection time and improves repeatability through premixing of the samples and reaction of the reagents. We further combined the detection platform with the streptavidin-biotin (SA-B) amplified system to enhance the sensitivity while using chemiluminescence (CL) intensity as signal readout. We realized simultaneous detection of CRP, PCT, and IL-6 on the detection platform and evaluated the sensitivity, linear range, selectivity, and repeatability. Finally, we finished detecting 15 samples from volunteers and compared the results with commercial ELISA kits.Results: Detection of CRP, PCT, and IL-6 exhibited good linear relationships between CL intensities and concentrations in the range of 1.25-40 μg/mL, 0.4-12.8 ng/mL, and 50-1600 pg/mL. The limit of detection (LOD) of CRP, PCT, and IL-6 were 0.54 μg/mL, 0.11 ng/mL, and 16.25 pg/mL, respectively. WMC-MDP is capable of good adequate selectivity and repeatability. The whole detection procedure takes only 22 minutes that meets the requirements of a POC device. Results of 15 samples from volunteers were consistent with the results detected by commercial ELISA kits.Conclusion: WMC-MDP allows simultaneous, rapid, and sensitive detection of CRP, PCT, and IL-6 with satisfactory selectivity and repeatability, requiring minimal manipulation. However, WMC-MDP takes advantage of being a microfluidic device showing the coefficients of variation less than 10% enabling WMC-MDP to be a type of POCT. Therefore, WMC-MDP provides a promising alternative to point-of-care testing (POCT) of multiple biomarkers. We believe the practical application of WMC-MDP in militarized fields will revolutionize infection diagnosis for soldiers.


1995 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 429-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lamb LSJr ◽  
RS Parrish ◽  
SF Goran ◽  
MH Biel

BACKGROUND: The development of user-friendly laboratory analyzers, combined with the need for rapid assessment of critically ill patients, has led to the performance of in vitro diagnostic testing at the point of care by personnel without formal laboratory training. OBJECTIVES: To determine the range of laboratory testing performed by critical care nurses and their attitudes toward this role. METHODS: A survey of critical care nursing consultants was conducted, using a modified Likert scale, to assess objective measures of point-of-care testing practice in critical care units and to determine nurses' attitudes toward the practice of point-of-care testing. Statistical analysis was performed to determine significant trends in responses. RESULTS: Of the units responding to the survey, 35% used critical care nurses exclusively to perform point-of-care testing, 32.5% used laboratory technicians and critical care nurses, and 25% used other personnel. Of critical care nurses performing laboratory testing, 95.5% performed blood glucose analysis; 18.7%, arterial blood gas analysis; 4.5%, electrolyte analysis; 4.5%, hematology profiles; and 22.7%, other testing. Most agreed that stat tests were not reported promptly, thereby necessitating bedside testing. Respondents indicated that they would prefer that laboratory personnel operate in vitro diagnostic equipment and that requirements for critical care nurses to perform laboratory testing detracted from other patient care duties. CONCLUSIONS: Most nurses who perform point-of-care testing responded that it was necessary and helpful in patient management. However, they would prefer, because of their other patient care responsibilities, that laboratory personnel take this responsibility.


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