Publications by authors named "Fran Smaic"
Article Synopsis
- Pseudothrombocytopenia (PTCP) is a rare issue where platelet counts appear low due to aggregation, leading to possible misdiagnoses and unsafe clinical decisions if not recognized quickly.
- The most frequent cause of PTCP is ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), and there are various management strategies documented, though expert guidance is limited.
- A collaborative group in Croatia developed minimal recommendations to help standardize the detection and reporting of platelet counts from EDTA-induced PTCP, aimed at laboratory professionals and healthcare providers involved in blood sample management.
Introduction: Due to high inter-observer variability the 2015 International Council for Standardization in Haematology (ICSH) recommendations state to count band neutrophils as segmented neutrophils in the white blood cell (WBC) differential. However, the inclusion of bands as a separate cell entity within the WBC differential is still widely used in hematology laboratories in Croatia. The aim of this multicentric study was to assess the degree of inter-observer variability in enumerating band neutrophils within the WBC differential among Croatian laboratories.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe sweat test (ST) is a cornerstone in the diagnosis of cystic fibrosis (CF), together with newborn screening and genetic testing. However, the performance of the ST can depend on the operator's skill, so several international guidelines have been published to standardise the ST, but inconsistencies remain. The joint Working Group for ST Standardisation (WG STS) of the Croatian Society of Medical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine, in association with cistic fybrosis health professional and the Cistic Fibrosis Centre for Paediatrics and Adults, have issued National Guidelines for the Performance of the Sweat Test in order to ensure consistency in ST performance and accuracy of reported results.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Based on the hypothesis that there is a substantial rate of adults with prediabetes and undiagnosed diabetes mellitus (DM), our aim was to perform haemoglobin A1c (HbA)-based screening in a cohort of Croatian adults and estimate the prevalence of prediabetes and undiagnosed DM according to American Diabetes Association criteria.
Materials And Methods: This multi-center, cross-sectional study performed in six Croatian hospitals included 5527 patients aged 40 to 70 years admitted to the Emergency Department or undergoing a primary care check-up. Haemoglobin A1c was measured from leftover whole blood samples using the enzymatic method on either Alinity c or Architect c-series analyser (Abbott Laboratories, Chicago, USA).