Analytical performance of a portable critical care blood gas analyzer.

The portable blood gas analyzer OPTI Critical Care Analyzer was evaluated in comparison to routine laboratory assays using heparinized blood samples of adults and newborns. Within-run imprecision studies were performed with native blood using tonometry to adjust blood gas concentrations. The results obtained show a very close agreement between the OPTI system and the comparison methods for all parameters tested: hemoglobin (y=1.

Cross-linked type I collagen C- and N-telopeptides in women with bone metastases from breast cancer.

This study documents values of biochemical markers of bone remodeling in 106 patients with breast cancer. Based on scintigraphic and radiological findings, patients were divided into 3 groups: 19 patients with bone metastases, 65 patients without bone metastases and normal bone scintigrams, and 22 patients with pathological, non-malignant findings on scintigraphy without proof of bone metastases. Urinary cross-linked type I collagen N-telopeptides (NTx) and serum cross-linked type I collagen C-telopeptides (ICTP) were assessed as markers of bone resorption.

Blood glucose determinations in newborns: four instruments compared.

Four portable analyzers, HemoCue B-Glucose (I), Accu-Check III (II), One-touch II (III), and Glucometer Elite (IV), with different measuring principles were tested for their suitability for measuring blood glucose in neonates. Precision of all instruments is satisfactory. In the analysis of capillary blood from newborns, two instruments show an excellent accuracy; however, the scatter of the results for instrument (II) is about 1.

[Is reliable blood glucose determination in the newborn infant possible with the small reflectance meter Reflolux S?].

With the reflectance meter Reflolux S (Accucheck III) high as well as low blood glucose levels can be determined with excellent precision irrespective of the sample's hematocrit value. Within the range from 20-50 mg/dl we found an average deviation from the expected value of less than 2 mg/dl; in selected samples, however, a difference of up to 10 mg/dl was recorded. The scatter can be explained by the influence of hematocrit values on the results.

[Serum fructosamine in healthy and diabetic children and adolescents].

The determination of fructosamine in serum of healthy newborns, children and adolescents by a new colorimetric method leads to an age-dependent reference range. Correction of the values for total protein yields a median of the results, which is not dependent on age and the upper limit of the reference range is not significantly different from that of healthy adults; this does not hold true for referral to albumin. As the half-life time of glycated serum proteins is shorter (mean 20 days) than that of hemoglobin A1c, fructosamine can provide useful additional informations about the diabetic control of children and adolescents (medium-term record of blood glucose).

[Fructosamine reference ranges for pregnant patients and children determined using an improved NBT method].

Reference values for fructosamine in pregnancy show a decrease with progressing pregnancy, which can be explained by pregnancy-associated hemodilution. A normalization to 7.0 g/dl total protein leads to values independent of gestational age.