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Abstract Background: Inflammatory adhesion molecules play a key role in the development of ischemic lesions. Elevated plasma concentrations of soluble adhesion molecules are reported in stroke patients, but data are [...]

Laboratory tests are an essential aspect of current medical practice and their use has grown exponentially. Several studies however have demonstrated inappropriate use of laboratory testing. This inappropriateness can lead to delayed or wrong diagnosis, negatively impacting patient safety and an increase in health care expenditure. The aim of the present small-scale survey was to obtain information on the current status of demand management in European laboratories, as well as the opinions of laboratory and clinical professionals in this regard. Two surveys were developed, one for laboratory specialists and one for clinicians, covering information on current use, knowledge and opinions on the possible impact of different demand management strategies on patient outcome and health care costs. Additionally, we asked for the current state and willingness on collaboration of laboratory specialists and clinicians. One hundred and fifty responses, 72 laboratory specialists and 78 clinicians, from nine countries were received. Developing local ordering protocols/profiles in collaboration with clinicians was the most used strategy (80.3% of laboratories). Of clinicians, 85.6% considered measures to ensure appropriate use of tests necessary and 100% were interested in advice/information about their indication. Of the laboratory specialists 97.2% were either already participating or willing to participate in multidisciplinary groups on the appropriateness of test demand as were 60.3% of clinicians, and 85.9% of clinicians were interested in attending activities about laboratory test demand management. The results of our survey show that tools to improve the appropriate use of laboratory tests are already regularly used today. Laboratory medicine specialists as well as clinicians are willing to undertake additional shared activities aimed at improving patient-centered laboratory diagnostic workup. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To ensure that clinical laboratories produce results that are both accurate and of clinical utility it is essential that only samples of adequate quality are analysed. Although various studies and databases assessing the stability of analytes in different settings do exist, guidance on how to perform and report stability studies is lacking. This results in studies that often do not report essential information, thus compromising transferability of the data. The aim of this manuscript is to describe the Checklist for Reporting Stability Studies (CRESS) against which future studies should be reported to ensure standardisation of reporting and easy assessment of transferability of studies to other healthcare settings. The EFLM WG-PRE (European Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine Working Group for the Preanalytical Phase) produced the CRESS checklist following a detailed literature review and extensive discussions resulting in consensus agreement. The checklist consists of 20 items covering all the aspects that should be considered when producing a report on a stability study including details of what should be included for each item and a rationale as to why. Adherence to the CRESS checklist will ensure that studies are reported in a transparent and replicable way. This will allow other laboratories to assess whether published data meet the stability criteria required in their own particular healthcare scenario. The EFLM WG-PRE encourage researchers and authors to use the CRESS checklist as a guide to planning stability studies and to produce standardised reporting of future stability studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim was to investigate: changes of inflammatory, stress and cardiac response in patients undergoing open heart surgeries up to five days after the procedure; the association between inflammatory, stress and cardiac response and whether changes in a certain marker can predict short-term patient outcome. Ninety patients were divided into three groups, 30 participants each (on-pump, off-pump revascularization and valve replacement group). The following markers were measured: complete blood count, CRP, IL-6, IL-10, leptin, resistin, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), cortisol, CK and hsTnT in 5 points. Resistin increased in all three groups. Lower IL-10 levels were found after the surgery and higher levels of leptin and MCP- 1 in the off-pump than in the on-pump group. Off-pump group had higher values of IL-6, IL-10, leptin, resistin and MCP-1 and lower levels of CK and hsTnT 24 after surgery than the on-pump group. We found significant correlation between MCP-1 and resistin. The difference between resistin at time points 2 and 3 significantly predicted transfusion needs; while the difference between CRP and resistin before and at the end of the surgery together with the difference between leukocytes at the end and 24 hours after the surgery predicted the use of inotropic agents/vasopressors. Cardiac surgeries cause an increase of inflammatory, stress and cardiac markers. Only resistin correlated with MCP-1 which confirms the link between resistin secreted form infiltrated macrophages and enhanced release of MCP-1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the importance of guaranteeing a high level of preanalytical quality in routine diagnostic testing has already been largely acknowledged over the past decades, minor emphasis is currently being placed on the fact that accurate performance and standardization of many preanalytical activities are also necessary prerogatives of clinical trials. Reliable evidence exists that clear indications on how to manage the different preanalytical steps are currently lacking in many clinical trials protocols, nor have detailed authoritative documents been published or endorsed on this matter to the best of our knowledge. To fill this gap, the European Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (EFLM) Working Group for Preanalytical Phase (WG-PRE) will provide here a specific checklist for preventing preanalytical diagnostic errors in clinical trials (PREDICT), especially focused on covering the most important preanalytical aspects of blood sample management in clinical studies, and thus encompassing test selection, patient preparation, sample collection, management and storage, sample transportation, as well as specimen retrieval before testing. The WG-PRE members sincerely hope that these recommendations will provide a useful contribution for increasing the success rate in clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]