Dark adaptation in vitamin A-deficient adults awaiting liver transplantation: improvement with intramuscular vitamin A treatment.

Background/aims: Although vitamin A deficiency is common in chronic liver disease, limited data exist on impairment of dark adaptation and response to therapy. The aims were (1) to assess dark adaptation in patients, (2) to assess the relationship between dark adaptation and vitamin A status, zinc and Child-Pugh score, (3) to compare perceived and measured dark adaptation and (4) to assess the dark adaptation response to intramuscular vitamin A.

Methods: This was a prospective study of 20 patients (alcoholic liver disease 10, other parenchymal diseases six, cholestatic diseases four) awaiting liver transplantation.

Correction and reporting of potassium results in haemolysed samples.

Background: Potassium is usually the most important analyte affected by in vitro haemolysis and the result obtained may falsely indicate or disguise a life-threatening abnormality and so give rise to inappropriate treatment. The purpose of the study was to provide a solution to the problem of reporting potassium on haemolysed samples, taking into account both clinical needs and analytical concerns (inter-individual and inter-sample variability).

Methods: Using a new procedure that mimics the collection process in an actual clinical setting, haemolysed samples were prepared from 41 volunteers with a range of inter-individual factors - haemoglobin 80-173 g/L, red blood cells 2.