Optimization of Laboratory Diagnostics of Primary Biliary Cholangitis: When Solid-Phase Assays and Immunofluorescence Combine.

The laboratory diagnostics of primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) have substantially improved, thanks to innovative analytical opportunities, such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) and multiple immunodot liver profile tests, based on recombinant or purified antigens. This study aimed to identify the best diagnostic test combination to optimize PBC diagnosis. Between January 2014 and March 2017, 164 PBC patients were recruited at the hospitals of Parma, Modena, Reggio-Emilia, and Piacenza.

Red blood cell distribution width and haemoglobin are associated with hospital admission in patients with acute allergic reactions.

Introduction: Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) is significantly associated with a variety of human disorders. This study aimed to investigate whether RDW value at admission may predict the need of hospitalisation in patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) with acute allergic reactions.

Materials And Methods: The study population consisted of adult patients (aged > 17) admitted to the ED for acute allergic reactions.

Serum bilirubin value predicts hospital admission in carbon monoxide-poisoned patients. Active player or simple bystander?

Objectives: Although carbon monoxide poisoning is a major medical emergency, the armamentarium of recognized prognostic biomarkers displays unsatisfactory diagnostic performance for predicting cumulative endpoints.

Methods: We performed a retrospective and observational study to identify all patients admitted for carbon monoxide poisoning during a 2-year period. Complete demographical and clinical information, along with the laboratory data regarding arterial carboxyhemoglobin, hemoglobin, blood lactate and total serum bilirubin, was retrieved.

Serum potassium levels inversely correlate with D-dimer in patients with acute-onset atrial fibrillation.

Background: D-dimer values are frequently increased in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) compared to subjects in sinus rhythm. Hypokalemia plays a role in several cardiovascular diseases, but little is known about the association with AF.

Objective: D-dimer values are frequently increased in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) compared with subjects in sinus rhythm.

Analytical evaluation of Diazyme procalcitonin (PCT) latex-enhanced immunoturbidimetric assay on Beckman Coulter AU5800.

Background: This study was aimed to evaluate the analytical performance of the novel Diazyme procalcitonin (PCT) immunoturbidimetric assay on Beckman Coulter AU5800.

Methods: Diazyme PCT is a latex-enhanced immunoturbidimetric assay, developed for use on laboratory instrumentations with capability of reading absorbance at 600 nm. This analytical evaluation included the assessment of limit of blank (LOB), limit of detection (LOD), functional sensitivity, imprecision, linearity, carryover, and method comparison between Diazyme PCT and Kryptor PCT on 129 routine serum inpatient samples.

Red blood cell distribution width: A simple parameter with multiple clinical applications.

The red blood cell distribution width (RDW) is a simple and inexpensive parameter, which reflects the degree of heterogeneity of erythrocyte volume (conventionally known as anisocytosis), and is traditionally used in laboratory hematology for differential diagnosis of anemias. Nonetheless, recent evidence attests that anisocytosis is commonplace in human disorders such as cardiovascular disease, venous thromboembolism, cancer, diabetes, community-acquired pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, liver and kidney failure, as well as in other acute or chronic conditions. Despite some demographic and analytical issues related to the routine assessment that may impair its clinical usefulness, an increased RDW has a high negative predictive value for diagnosing a variety of disorders, but also conveys important information for short- and long-term prognosis.

Prevalence of hyponatremia in femur neck fractures: a one-year survey in an urban emergency department.

This study was aimed at investigating the prevalence of hyponatremia in patients with intracapsular femoral neck fracture. All records containing clinical and laboratory information of patients admitted with femoral neck fractures to the Academic Hospital of Parma (Italy) during the year 2013 were retrieved from the hospital database. The control population consisted of subjects admitted to the outpatient phlebotomy center during the same period.

Initial blood lactate correlates with carboxyhemoglobin and clinical severity in carbon monoxide poisoned patients.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the role of blood lactate levels at admission in carbon monoxide (CO)-poisoned patients for establishing severity of poisoning and short term prognosis.

Method: All cases of CO poisoning visited in the emergency department during the years 2012 and 2013 were retrieved from the hospital database. The concentration of COHb and lactate was assessed in arterial blood in all patients with suspected CO poisoning, along with the plasma concentration of troponin I (TnI).