Issue

Researchers conducted a cross-sectional analysis of more than 14,000 youth in the United States and found that few meet diagnostic criteria for diabetes. Nevertheless, HbA1c is still an effective screening tool for type 2 diabetes, regardless of screening eligibility.

As schools and businesses struggle to reopen in the midst of a global pandemic, institutions and test developers have been working on strategies to mass produce and deploy rapid tests, pool samples and step up contact tracing for COVID-19. These efforts wouldn’t necessarily replace standard polymerase chain reaction (PCR) diagnostic…

Whole-exome sequencing (WES) on its own isn’t sufficient in detecting rare metabolic disorders in newborns, but it may be useful as a secondary diagnostic tool. Researchers in California reported that tandem mass spectrometry outperformed WES on sensitivity and specificity, although results varied by type of disorder. They chronicled their findings…

The last 2 decades have seen substantial efforts to develop near-patient testing strategies. This led to major technological advancements in the critical point-of-care testing field, as the global market seeks quick and accurate results at patients’ bedsides. An online international symposium AACC is hosting on October 2, 2020 will prep…

In times of changing payment systems that have cut lab test reimbursement while also placing more value on population health management, clinical labs would do well to look beyond their traditional role as centers of testing and explore how they might contribute to population-level analysis and care management, according to…

Shared manual methods and lax attention to personal protective equipment appear to be the greatest risk points for laboratory-acquired infection, a study in Clinical Chemistry found. Investigators analyzed the likelihood of instrument contamination from grossly contaminated specimens in labs and discovered that while the likelihood is low, only 50% of…

Recent clinical data suggest that pregnancy exacerbates SARS-CoV-2 complications. Expectant mothers face stressors to the immune system and to the lungs and heart that increase vulnerability to COVID-19 illness.