Comparability of a new turbidimetric digoxin test with other immunochemical tests and with HPLC--a multicenter evaluation.

A new turbidimetric inhibition immunoassay for digoxin (Tina-quant [a] Digoxin, Boehringer Mannheim) was evaluated in seven laboratories. It can be performed without sample pretreatment with ready-to-use reagents on nondedicated analyzers in combination with routine clinical chemistry. The studies revealed a good analytical performance: lower limit of detection 0.

Stepwise binary gradient high-performance liquid chromatographic system for routine drug monitoring.

Drug therapy is usually optimized by concentration measurement in patient serum. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is one of the most important analytical techniques used for therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of drugs for which no immunoassay kits are available. HPLC has been frequently used for screening purposes in toxicology, too.

[Immune paralysis in acute pancreatitis--HLA-DR antigen expression on CD14+DR+ monocytes].

Unlabelled: Determination of the prognosis in acute cases of pancreatitis, particularly in its serious and necrotizing form, still presents problems. Patients require intensive care and suffer from severe septic complications that do not correlate with pancreatic enzyme levels (amylase lipase).

Method: Thirty-one patients with acute pancreatitis were examined: group 1 -- necrotizing pancreatitis (lethal outcome n = 7); group 2 -- necrotizing pancreatitis (surviving n = 12); group 3 edematous pancreatitis (surviving n = 12).

Comparison of serum phospholipase A2, polymorphonuclear granulocyte elastase, C-reactive protein and serum amyloid A with the APACHE II score in the prognosis of multiple injured patients.

This prospective study of 35 multitraumatized intensive care unit patients requiring mechanical ventilation examined the relative utility of four biochemical parameters with a physiological scoring system for predicting lethal outcome. Levels of serum phospholipase A2 (PLA2), serum amyloid A (SAA), polymorphonuclear granulocyte elastase (PMN elastase), and C-reactive protein (CRP) were determined at short intervals during the patient's hospitalization. The first specimen was obtained at the time of admission, and subsequent specimens were drawn at 8 h intervals for the first 48 h and then twice daily until death or convalescence.