Ca2+ measurement with ion selective electrodes. The French coordinated evaluation of seven analyzers, for a better clinical relevance and acceptance.

The measurement of ionized calcium has evolved in the last decade, and can now be easily performed by clinical laboratories using direct potentiometric analyzers available from a number of manufacturers. An original protocol for a comparison of the analyzers was used through a parallel multicenter evaluation in France. Using newly developed aqueous buffered solutions, this study focused not only on the analytical performance and operational handling of analyzers, but also on possible interferences in biological samples and the clinical relevance of the measurement with respect to the techniques of sample collection.

[Extrarenal purification in severe salicylate poisoning in adults].

About a new case of severe salicylate intoxication, the authors wanted to confirm the advantages of extrarenal epuration in some circumstances. Besides of usual treatments, it decreases the severity of this intoxication and the delay in its treatment by reducing quickly blood salicylate level to a moderate or benign rate whose prognosis is really better. Of course, the choice among the most common treatments (hemodialysis, hemoperfusion, peritoneal dialysis) depends with technical disposals, but hemodialysis seems the most efficient with minor risks than the intoxication itself.

[Comparison of 3 high-permeability dialysers].

Three capillary dialyzers, with highly permeable membranes, have been compared for their capacity of epuration of blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, phosphorus, uric acid and beta 2 microglobulin, and for their respective protein losses. There were very little differences between the dialyzers for epuration of small uremic molecules, with no benefit due to high permeability membranes in comparison with conventional dialyzers. Protein losses may be important and have to be known.