Age and sex variation in serum albumin concentration: an observational study.

Background: In the UK, a common reference interval for serum albumin is widely used irrespective of age or sex. Implicit in this is that laboratories produce analytically similar results. This paper challenges the validity of this approach.

Informatics and the clinical laboratory.

The nature of pathology services is changing under the combined pressures of increasing workloads, cost constraints and technological advancement. In the face of this, laboratory systems need to meet new demands for data exchange with clinical electronic record systems for test requesting and results reporting. As these needs develop, new challenges are emerging especially with respect to the format and content of the datasets which are being exchanged.

Chronic prostatitis.

Purpose Of Review: This review covers recent developments in the classification, epidemiology, aetiology, diagnosis and treatment of patients diagnosed with chronic prostatitis (NIH classification types II, IIIa/IIIb and IV prostatitis) in the period of review (2001-2002).

Recent Findings: Recent studies highlight some of the problems with the 1995 NIH classification. Epidemiological studies have confirmed that "prostatitis" is common, with a prevalence of 10-15%.