Evaluation of a portable clinical analyzer in the pediatric emergency department: analysis of cost and turnaround time.

Background: The objective of this study was to evaluate a portable clinical analyzer (PCA) in the pediatric emergency department (ED), examining (1) turnaround time, (2) cost, and (3) sample amounts for PCA versus standard laboratory.

Methods: Twenty children were studied. Laboratory measurements were taken from the study group using PCA and central laboratory as the control.