The 99th percentile and imprecision of point-of-care cardiac troponin I in comparison to central laboratory tests in a large reference population.

Objectives: Determination of cardiac troponin (cTn) is central in the emergency department (ED) for the diagnosis of myocardial infarction. In view of adverse effects of long waiting time on patient outcome, implementation of point-of-care-testing (POCT) is suggested if the turn-around-time is longer than 60min. The present study aimed to determine the 99th percentile and imprecision of two POCT in a healthy population measuring cTnI and cTnT and compare these analytical characteristics against three central laboratory test (CLT) for cTnI.

Extending laboratory automation to the wards: effect of an innovative pneumatic tube system on diagnostic samples and transport time.

Background: The innovative pneumatic tube system (iPTS) transports one sample at a time without the use of cartridges and allows rapid sending of samples directly into the bulk loader of a laboratory automation system (LAS). We investigated effects of the iPTS on samples and turn-around time (TAT).

Methods: During transport, a mini data logger recorded the accelerations in three dimensions and reported them in arbitrary area under the curve (AUC) units.

Long-term stability of glucose: 96-h study using Terumo Glycaemia tubes.

Background: Long transportation times of samples can occur due to centralization of laboratories, and also in, for instance epidemiological multicenter studies with one core laboratory. Unsatisfactory glycolysis inhibition is known to threaten the correct measurements of glucose concentration in patient samples. In former studies Terumo Glycaemia tubes proved to be superior to other anticoagulant systems for time periods of up to 24 h.