Patterns of add-on tests for hospitalized and for private patient populations.

Context: The policy of storing clinical samples in a pathology laboratory is based on long-standing practice rather than on objective data regarding the actual use of the stored samples.

Objective: To determine the time after initial order that requests for add-on tests are submitted to the laboratory. These data might be useful for improving the efficiency of sample storage.

Reducing substances in urine: a paradigm for changes in a standard test.

Detection of reducing substances in urine has been a standard laboratory procedure for about 50 yr. It is used as a screening test for inborn errors of carbohydrate metabolism. Although the test has poor specificity and most states perform mandatory newborn screening for the common genetic defects, most clinical laboratories still perform this as a reflex test on all pediatric urine samples.

A model for troponin I as a quantitative predictor of in-hospital mortality.

Objectives: We evaluated log-transformed troponin I as a predictor of mortality in 2 independent populations.

Background: The troponin I result is typically dichotomized by a single diagnostic cutoff. Its performance as a continuous prognostic variable has not previously been well-characterized.

Multicenter evaluation of the Bayer ADVIA Centaur HIV 1/O/2 enhanced (EHIV) assay.

Background: It is important that serological assays detect antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in all infected individuals, including those infected with less prevalent, more diverse subtypes.

Methods: Performance of the ADVIA Centaur HIV 1/O/2 Enhanced (EHIV) Assay was tested on 1344 samples from HIV-positive subjects, 6061 samples from groups at low-risk for HIV infection, and 1042 samples from groups at high-risk for HIV-1 and HIV-2 infection. Results were compared with those of an FDA-approved predicate assay.

Establishing a new target range for unfractionated heparin for acute coronary syndromes.

Introduction: The target activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) range of 1.5 to 2.5 times the control value or 45 to 75 seconds recommended by the ACC/AHA for patients receiving unfractionated heparin (UFH) for acute coronary syndromes (ACS) is vulnerable to variation in test reagents.