Comparing outcomes and costs between contingent and combined first-trimester screening strategies for Down's syndrome.

Objective: To compare a contingent strategy with a combined strategy for prenatal detection of Down's syndrome (DS) in terms of cost, outcomes and safety.

Study Design: The contingent strategy was based on a simulation, removing measurement of the free beta subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin (free βhCG) and calculating the DS risk retrospectively in 32,371 pregnant women who had been screened with the combined strategy in the first trimester. In the contingent strategy, a risk between 1:31 and 1:1000 in the first trimester indicated further testing in the second trimester (alpha-fetoprotein, inhibin A, unconjugated oestriol and free βhCG).

First-trimester screening biochemical markers (free beta-subunit human chorionic gonadotropin, pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A) and risk of early fetal loss.

Aim: The aim of this work was to assess the risk of early fetal loss (first trimester of pregnancy, 8-13 weeks of gestation) using the results of first-trimester screening (FTS) biochemical markers independently and combined.

Methods: FTS results of 152 women who suffered early fetal loss were compared to a control group of 150 women with normal pregnancy outcomes. FTS biochemical markers were measured with a Delfia Xpress 6000 analyzer and biochemical risks for Down's and Edward's syndromes were calculated using Prenatal-Lifecycle version 3.

First trimester serum angiogenic/anti-angiogenic status in twin pregnancies: relationship with assisted reproduction technology.

Background: The risk of pre-eclampsia (PE) increases in twin pregnancies, especially when assisted reproduction technologies (ART) are used. The aim of this study was to assess angiogenic/anti-angiogenic factors in maternal serum in the first trimester of twin pregnancies and establish if the mode of conception influences angiogenic status.

Methods: This prospective study enrolled women with twin (n = 61) and singleton (n = 50) pregnancies.

Validation of the Beckman Coulter AcT 5 diff analyzer in a reference laboratory.

At the Valle de Hebron Hospital's Central Laboratory, we have performed a study evaluating the performance, reliability, and practicability of the Beckman Coulter AcT 5 analyzer. The results observed with known controls showed within- and between-run imprecision of 1.05% to 6.

Apoptosis in infectious mononucleosis: its detection with the Beckman Coulter GenS hematology analyzer.

This article describes the potential of the Beckman Coulter GenS hematology analyzer for detecting and quantifying the phenomenon of elevated apoptosis found during the incubation at 37 degrees C of samples containing CD45RO+ reactive T-lymphocytes from patients with infectious mononucleosis (IM). Visual detection was carried out with the GenS DF1 scattergram (volume/scatter), and the means and SDs of lymphocyte positional parameters (volume, scatter, and conductivity) were recorded from the instrument research screen before and after samples were incubated in an oven for 4 hours. Thirty-one IM samples were analyzed, and the results obtained after sample incubation showed a mean reduction in lymphocyte volume of 34%, a 3.

Application of receiver operating characteristics curve (ROC) analysis when definitive and suspect morphologic flags appear in the new Coulter LH 750 analyzer.

Workflow efficiency is important in every laboratory. Manual assessment of white blood cell counts and differentials that have been rejected by an automated analyzer is one of the most time-consuming tasks in the routine hematology laboratory. In this study, receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis was used for the first time when anomalous distribution and suspect flag alarms appeared in hemograms carried out with the new Beckman Coulter LH 750 analyzer.

Use of the Advia 120 hematology analyzer in the differential cytologic analysis of biological fluids (cerebrospinal, peritoneal, pleural, pericardial, synovial, and others).

The centralization of our laboratories and the demand for new parameters to measure have led to an increase in the number of biological fluid samples, which are generally sent for urgent analysis. Due to this they cannot be processed by manual methods. Meeting this increased demand for assistance is a challenge for the laboratory, and the challenge has been met by the automated hematology area.

Validation of the Coulter LH 750 in a hospital reference laboratory.

Validation of the Coulter LH 750 was carried out in our central hospital laboratory, which processes 1500 hemograms per day for patients admitted into the 4 hospitals of our hospital complex and their corresponding outpatient departments. It is the reference laboratory for the provincial health care area. The analytical quality and the practical use of the instrument were studied, and we obtained within- and between-run imprecision estimates with reference controls of between 0.

Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 in girls with precocious pubarche: a premenarcheal marker for polycystic ovary syndrome?

In both obese and nonobese women, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is essentially a disorder of hyperinsulinemic insulin resistance, and it may be heralded by precocious pubarche (PP; appearance of pubic hair in girls aged <8 y). The risk of progression from PP to PCOS is related to low birth weight, but there are no early biochemical markers of this risk. As increased plasminogen activator-inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1) activity (act) is an early marker of cardiovascular risk in PCOS, we have sought abnormalities in young girls with PP.

[Lupus anticoagulant: complete automation (ACL-Futura) and diagnostic algorithm].

Purpose: The technical and clinical evaluation of a new laboratory profile with six tests, for the realization of the assay called "lupic anticoagulant" with the help of ACL-Futura analyzer (Intrumentation Laboratory).

Results: The within-between day imprecision of the tests that compose the profile: APTT-Diluted, APTT-D Mix, LacScreen, LacScreen Mix, LacConfirm and LacConfirm Mix, are between 2.87%-11.

Iron metabolism in burned children.

Unlabelled: The administration of iron supplementation in children with burns has been a subject of controversy. Recent studies argue against its use in the acute phase of stress. To assess whether iron metabolism parameters show significant differences in the acute phase and the recovery phase of burn, 21 patients (age range: 17 months to 13 years) with burns of more than 10% of body surface who had not received blood transfusions or iron supplementation were studied.

Evaluation of the Menarini-Arkray HA 8140 hemoglobin A1c analyzer.

We describe a multinational evaluation of the Menarini-Arkray HA 8140 hemoglobin (Hb) A1c analyzer, which utilizes a high degree of automation, including bar code reading, cap piercing, and whole-blood sampling. With-in- and between-batch CVs were < 2%. Linearity was confirmed throughout the working range of the analyzer.

[Initial evaluation of the ACL-Futura coagulation analyzer].

Purpose: The first analytical performance of analyzer ACL-Futura (Instruments Laboratory) is presented.

Results: The analyzer shows an within-between day imprecision with controls, for PT (prothrombin time) of 0.7-8%, APTT (activated partial thromboplastin time) of 0.

[First evaluation of the Variant haemoglobin analyzer (Bio-Rad)].

Purpose: The analytical performance of the first automated HPLC analyzer of haemoglobins A2 and Foetal is presented.

Results: The analyzer shows an imprecision within-run between 0.66-2.

[Reference values for vitamin B12 in blood in a population of children and one of adults using the IMxRB12 method].

Unlabelled: In this study we have performed the reference values of vitamin B12 of a population of 124 children aged 0-18 years and 42 adults aged 19-55 years, assessed by the recent method IMxR B12. Abbott. The population studied included outpatients, some inpatients and groups of subjects undergoing banal examinations in the Hospital Universitario Materno-Infantil of Barcelona.

Specific IgE antibodies in nasal secretions: correlation with serum values and clinical tests.

The presence of specific IgE in external secretions and the possibility of quantifying it has aroused the interest of many research workers. Nevertheless, there is still disagreement with regard to how useful this practice is from a clinical point of view. We have compared the presence of Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Dp) specific-IgE in the nasal secretion of 17 patients suffering from rhinitis with the results of prick tests and nasal and/or conjunctival challenge tests.

Reagent strip for semiquantitative total and specific IgE measurement: a comparison to radioisotopic methods.

Determination of total and specific IgE using reactive test strips may afford a useful screening method in the in vitro diagnosis of allergens owing to easy use and possible correlation with established methods. T.D.

Acetyl salicylic acid induced-urticaria and/or angioedema in atopic children.

From the report of Hirschberg, only 3 years after aspirin synthesis, there have been numerous works dedicated to showing the different types of adverse reactions found following aspirin administration. However, there are few publications on the process of urticaria and/or acute angioedema induced by ASA and few reported cases were found in children. Thus, we present 6 atopic children with urticaria and/or angioedema related with ASA.

Penicillin allergy: in vivo and in vitro diagnostic methods.

Hypersensitivity to beta lactams, especially that mediated by IgE or IgG4, is the most frequent complaint of adverse drug reactions. There are multiple studies dedicated at establishing a method that can permit us to arrive at an accurate diagnosis, but from these studies one deduces that the difficulty lies in the lack of a test with a 100% reliability. In the present study we evaluate the correlation between the different methods.