The diagnostic performances of the Atellica® 1500 automated urinalysis system for ruling out bacterial urinary tract infection.

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most common diseases occurring in both hospitalized and community subjects. Urine culture is the gold standard test for the diagnosis of UTI, but approximately 80% are negative. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of the automated urinalysis system Atellica® 1500 (Siemens Healthineers, Erlangen, Germany) as screening tool for ruling out UTI.

Development of an algorithm for ruling-out non-ST elevation myocardial infarction in the emergency department using high sensitivity troponin T assay.

Introduction: Chest pain and its clinical manifestations are the most common reasons for presentation to the emergency department (ED). Given that the prevalence of chest pain due to acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in the ED is modest, clinicians should use cardiac troponins to safely and rapidly rule out AMI, avoiding the delayed release of low risk patients. The study aims to develop and validate an algorithm to early rule-out of non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) in subjects admitted to the ED with symptoms of myocardial infarction.

Performance evaluation of a new and improved cuvette-based automated urinalysis analyzer with phase contrast microscopy.

Background: The use of phase contrast in urinalysis has been highly recommended. A new system, sediMAX conTRUST PRO, is now available providing simultaneous automated phase contrast and bright field microscopy. This study aimed to evaluate both analytical and diagnostic performance of this new analyzer.

Glycosylated Hemoglobin in Subjects Affected by Iron-Deficiency Anemia.

Previous studies have suggested that iron-deficiency anemia affects glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) measurements, but the results were contradictory. We conducted a retrospective case-control study to determine the effects of iron deficiency on HbA1c levels. Starting with the large computerized database of the Italian Hospital of Desio, including data from 2000 to 2016, all non-pregnant individuals older than 12 years of age with at least one measurement of HbA1c, cell blood count, ferritin, and fasting blood glucose on the same date of blood collection were enrolled.

The development of autoverification rules applied to urinalysis performed on the AutionMAX-SediMAX platform.

Background: Fully automated urine analyzers integrated with expert software can help to select samples that need review in routine clinical laboratory. This study aimed to define review rules to be set in the expert software Director for routine urinalysis on the AutionMAX-SediMAX platform.

Methods: A set of 1002 urinalysis data randomly extracted from the daily routine was used.

IgMκ-IgMλ pair quantitation in the clinical laboratory practice.

Background: New Hevylite® assay quantifies the immunoglobulin classes, including IgM bound to light chains, allowing distinguishing immunoglobulins involved and uninvolved in plasma cell disorders.

Objective: To compare data obtained by IgM Hevylite® (IgM-HLC) assay with conventional methods used in routine laboratory practice for monitoring IgM plasma cell disorders.

Methods: Serum samples (n=122) from 50 patients with IgM monoclonal protein (MP) identified by Immunofixation (IFE) before the beginning of the study were collected during monitoring from December 2012 to September 2014 (2 Waldestrom's macroglobulinemia, 4 NH-lymphoma, 44 MGUS) and were assessed using IgM Hevylite® (HLC) assay, Capillary Electrophoresis (CE), Immunofixation (IFE), serum Free Light Chain (FLC) assay and total IgM measurements.

Iron Stores, Hepcidin, and Aortic Stiffness in Individuals with Hypertension.

Background & Aims: Iron accumulation within the arterial wall has been hypothesized to promote atherosclerosis progression. Aim of this study was to evaluate whether the hormone hepcidin and iron stores are associated with arterial stiffness in subjects with essential hypertension.

Methods: Circulating hepcidin, ferritin, and mutations in the hemochromatosis gene were compared between subjects included in the first vs.

Verification of an immunoturbidimetric assay for heart-type fatty acid-binding protein (H-FABP) on a clinical chemistry platform and establishment of the upper reference limit.

Background: Heart-type fatty acid-binding protein (H-FABP) is an early biomarker of cardiac injury. Randox Laboratories developed an immunoturbidimetric H-FABP assay for non-proprietary automated clinical chemistry analysers that could be useful in the emergency department. We verified the analytical performances claimed by Randox Laboratories on Roche Cobas 6000 clinical chemistry platform in use in our laboratory, and we defined our own 99th percentile upper reference limit for H-FABP.

Feto-maternal correlation of PTX3, sFlt-1 and PlGF in physiological and pre-eclamptic pregnancies.

Objective: PTX3, sFlt-1 and PlGF levels in maternal blood are altered in some obstetric diseases, such as preeclampsia (PE). Nonetheless, only few data on their expression in the fetal compartment have been reported so far.

Study Design: An observational study was performed by prospectively collecting maternal and fetal serum samples in 51 singleton pregnancies divided into two groups: 22 PE women and 29 healthy controls.

Heart-type fatty acid-binding protein may exclude acute myocardial infarction on admission to emergency department for chest pain.

Chest pain is one of the most frequent reasons for presentation to the emergency department (ED), although the estimated prevalence of AMI (acute myocardial infarction) in the ED is about 4%. One criterion for diagnosis of AMI is the demonstration of a rise and/or fall in cardiac troponins, but time is needed for this to happen. Thus, the use of an additional 'early marker' of cardiac injury may aid to exclude AMI rapidly.

Normal fasting plasma glucose and risk of type 2 diabetes.

Objective: To investigate the association of normal fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and the risk for type 2 diabetes.

Research Design And Methods: Data concerning 13,845 subjects, aged 40-69 years, who had their FPG measured at least three times between 1992 and 2008 were extracted from a database. Three FPG groups were defined (51-82, 83-90, and 91-99 mg/dL).