Antibody-mediated interferences affecting cardiac troponin assays: recommendations from the IFCC Committee on Clinical Applications of Cardiac Biomarkers.

The International Federation of Clinical Chemistry Committee on Clinical Applications of Cardiac Biomarkers (IFCC C-CB) provides educational documents to facilitate the interpretation and use of cardiac biomarkers in clinical laboratories and practice. Our aim is to improve the understanding of certain key analytical and clinical aspects of cardiac biomarkers and how these may interplay. Measurements of cardiac troponin (cTn) have a prominent place in the clinical work-up of patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome.

Total bilirubin assay differences may cause inconsistent treatment decisions in neonatal hyperbilirubinaemia.

Objectives: To assess interlaboratory variability of total serum bilirubin (TSB) results in newborns. Initiated following a clinical incident in which a neonate was transferred to a tertiary hospital for treatment of severe hyperbilirubinemia but on arrival was reclassified into a lower risk category due to a 20% difference in TSB between laboratories.

Methods: Fresh residual plasma samples from hospital-born infants were pooled to obtain 11 samples across a range of total bilirubin concentrations.

High incidence of macrotroponin I with a high-sensitivity troponin I assay.

Background: Cardiac troponin is the preferred biomarker of myocardial injury. High-sensitivity troponin assays allow measurement of very low levels of troponin with excellent precision. After the introduction of a high-sensitivity troponin I assay the laboratory began to receive enquiries from clinicians about clinically discordant elevated troponin I results.

Recovery of drugs of abuse from Dräger DCD5000 oral fluid collection device in Australia.

In Australia, it is a requirement of workplace oral fluid (OF) drugs of abuse testing that drug recovery from collection devices be verified by an accredited laboratory. Recovery data are used in conjunction with collection volume imprecision data and uncertainty of measurement to provide an estimation of drug concentration in neat OF. The manufacturer's product information for the DCD5000 collection device indicates that the collection volume of the swab is 380 µL.

LC-MS/MS method for the quantitation of metabolites of eight commonly-used synthetic cannabinoids in human urine--an Australian perspective.

An LC-MS/MS method for the quantitation of urinary metabolites of eight JWH-type synthetic cannabinoids (SCs) has been developed and validated. Urine samples are subjected to deconjugation using β-glucuronidase, followed by a solvent extraction procedure. Compounds are separated on a reverse-phase HPLC column within a 14 min cycle.

Can one point-of-care glucose meter be used for all pediatric and adult hospital patients? Evaluation of three meters, including recently modified test strips.

Background: within hospitals, bedside blood glucose measurements are widely used for investigating suspected hyper- or hypoglycemia, monitoring diabetes, and adjusting glucose-lowering medication. Numerous point-of-care glucose meters are available, but for large hospitals using the same meter in all settings has practical and economic advantages. This investigation sought to identify a meter that was accurate, precise, and free from interferences, making it suitable for use across all ages and diseases.