Issue

Competency assessment checklists and point-of-care testing (POCT) coordinators could drive up operator compliance rates of glucose POC meters. Canadian researchers analyzed these approaches at two different sites and found that auto-certification did not guarantee competency, and that compliance was much higher at the site with a coordinator. Overall, just 20%…

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has issued a more rigorous screening protocol for hepatitis C virus (HCV) in wake of rising cases affecting people of all ages. The panel now recommends testing in adults aged 18 to 79, whereas its 2013 guidance proposed screening only high-risk individuals and…

Real-time sequencing could significantly reduce the time it takes to diagnose sepsis and other bloodstream infections. A proof-of-concept study in The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics describes a nanopore sequencing technique that identified and diagnosed sepsis-causing agents in 2 to 3 hours. According to principal investigator Kai Sohn, PhD, the method…

A groundbreaking survey that analyzed compensation trends by geographic region, experience, gender, and employment sector found a slight but noteworthy gender gap among doctorate-level clinical chemists.

The past few months have been a whirlwind of news about, and activities in response to, the emergence and spread of the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. As this pandemic unfolds, laboratory personnel are key to the efforts to halt the virus’s spread and treat patients.

A study in Clinical Chemistry that examined upper reference limits (URL) for high-sensitivity cardiac troponin assays (hs-cTn) uncovered some stark realities about their clinical limitations. Specific 99th percentile URLs varied among devices in terms of their measurements, statistical methods, and in some cases by sex. The findings complement the Fourth…