AACC/NKF Guidance Document on Improving Equity in Chronic Kidney Disease Care

Inverse Associations between Measures of Adiposity and Glycated Albumin in US Adults, NHANES 1999–2004

Pediatric Reference Value Profiling of Essential Trace and Toxic Elements in Healthy Children and Adolescents Using High-Resolution and Triple Quadrupole Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry

Clinical Laboratory Approaches for Diagnoses of Sleep-Disordered Breathing and ADHD-Like Behavior in Children

AACC Guidance Document on the Clinical Use of Procalcitonin

Clinical Validation of the sFlt-1:PlGF Ratio as a Biomarker for Preeclampsia Diagnosis in a High-Risk Obstetrics Unit

Comparison of a Novel Thin-Walled 25-gauge Needle Push Button Blood Collection Set to a Standard 23-gauge Needle in a Cancer Patient Population

AACC Guidance Document on Cervical Cancer Detection: Screening, Surveillance, and Diagnosis

Deceptively Simple: Can Urine Samples from CLIA-Waived Urine Drug Screen Devices Be Reused for Confirmatory Testing? 

On Developing Better Practices for Reproducible Data Analysis in Laboratory Medicine 

Podcast interviews with authors of articles published in The Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine, a publication of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC).

JALM Talk Podcast

Therapeutic Monoclonal Antibodies in the Clinical Laboratory

Effect of Preanalytical Factors on the Stability of Maternal Serum Biomarkers and Calculated Risk for Trisomy 21, Trisomy 18, and Open Neural Tube Defect

Serum Free Light Chain (FLC) Analysis: A Guiding Light in Monoclonal Gammopathy Management

Laboratory automation holds the promise of enhanced workflows, improved efficiency, and decreased turnaround time while mitigating an environment of rising costs, constrained resources, and staffing shortages.  Many publications tout improved outcomes from laboratory automation but realizing these results may not come easily. Automated Laboratories: When Technology Needs a Human Touch was published in the May 2018 issue of the Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine.  This work reflects on one lab’s experience with a challenging implementation of laboratory automation.   Several unanticipate outcomes were encountered that required investigation to improve laboratory turnaround time.

Laboratory automation holds the promise of enhanced workflows, improved efficiency, and decreased turnaround time while mitigating an environment of rising costs, constrained resources, and staffing shortages.  Many publications tout improved outcomes from laboratory automation but realizing these results may not come easily. Automated Laboratories: When Technology Needs a Human Touch was published in the May 2018 issue of the Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine.  This work reflects on one lab’s experience with a challenging implementation of laboratory automation.   Several unanticipate outcomes were encountered that required investigation to improve laboratory turnaround time.

Automated Laboratories: When Technology Needs a Human Touch

Point-of-Care vs Central Lab "Discrepancies"

Measuring vancomycin levels has long been an important component of laboratory therapeutic drug monitoring.  Such measurements are important for obtaining optimal targets serum concentrations for drug dosing, while avoiding vancomycin induced nephrotoxicity.  “AUC-Based Monitoring of Vancomycin: Closing the Therapeutic Window” was published in the January 2019 issue of The Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine.  This review evaluates shifting the conventional therapeutic drug monitoring approach of vancomycin from trough monitoring, to an area under the curve approach for more appropriate drug dosing.

Measuring vancomycin levels has long been an important component of laboratory therapeutic drug monitoring.  Such measurements are important for obtaining optimal targets serum concentrations for drug dosing, while avoiding vancomycin induced nephrotoxicity.  “AUC-Based Monitoring of Vancomycin: Closing the Therapeutic Window” was published in the January 2019 issue of The Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine.  This review evaluates shifting the conventional therapeutic drug monitoring approach of vancomycin from trough monitoring, to an area under the curve approach for more appropriate drug dosing.

AUC-Based Monitoring of Vancomycin: Closing the Therapeutic Window

The Importance of Effective Communication

Diagnostic errors in medicine continue to be a large problem for effective healthcare delivery.  As a result, moderate and severe consequences from the errors, including death, account for 75% of diagnostic errors in the United States.  “Interventions That Can Help Reduce Diagnostic Errors” was published in the July 2018 issue of The Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine.  The editorial discusses the associated JALM Review “The Definition and Scope of Diagnostic Error in the US and How Diagnostic Error is Enabled” by Dr. Michael Laposata. The authors of the editorial are Dr. Michael Astion and Dr. Jane Dickerson.

Diagnostic errors in medicine continue to be a large problem for effective healthcare delivery.  As a result, moderate and severe consequences from the errors, including death, account for 75% of diagnostic errors in the United States.  “<a href="http://jalm.aaccjnls.org/content/3/1/6" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Interventions That Can Help Reduce Diagnostic Errors</a>” was published in the July 2018 issue of The Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine.  The editorial discusses the associated JALM Review “<a href="http://jalm.aaccjnls.org/content/3/1/128" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Definition and Scope of Diagnostic Error in the US and How Diagnostic Error is Enabled</a>” by Dr. Michael Laposata. The authors of the editorial are Dr. Michael Astion and Dr. Jane Dickerson.

Interventions That Can Help Reduce Diagnostic Errors

Venous thromboembolism, or VTE, is a serious medical condition characterized by a blood clot in a vein, also known as deep vein thrombosis. If the clot breaks free from the vein, it can cause a life-threatening pulmonary embolism by blocking blood supply to the lungs. Over 100,000 Americans may die from VTE per year. If recognized quickly, VTE may be effectively treated with anticoagulant therapy; however, it can be difficult to detect when VTE is occurring and when treatment is warranted, thus the clinical laboratory plays an important role in performing diagnostic tests for VTE.

Venous thromboembolism, or VTE, is a serious medical condition characterized by a blood clot in a vein, also known as deep vein thrombosis. If the clot breaks free from the vein, it can cause a life-threatening pulmonary embolism by blocking blood supply to the lungs. Over 100,000 Americans may die from VTE per year. If recognized quickly, VTE may be effectively treated with anticoagulant therapy; however, it can be difficult to detect when VTE is occurring and when treatment is warranted, thus the clinical laboratory plays an important role in performing diagnostic tests for VTE.

D-dimer: Common Assay, Challenges Abound, Caution Advised

Bad Tests Die Slowly: The Myelin Basic Protein Example

A high throughput LC-MS/MS method for the determination of phosphatidylethanol (PEth) in clinical samples using a simple automated extraction procedure was published in the May 2018 issue of The Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine.  This work describes an improved automated approach to analysis of the alcohol marker phosphatidylethanol that uses liquid chromatography mass spectrometry instead of conventional HPLC.

A high throughput LC-MS/MS method for the determination of phosphatidylethanol (PEth) in clinical samples using a simple automated extraction procedure was published in the May 2018 issue of The Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine.  This work describes an improved automated approach to analysis of the alcohol marker phosphatidylethanol that uses liquid chromatography mass spectrometry instead of conventional HPLC.

High-Throughput LC-MS/MS Method for Determination of the Alcohol Use Biomarker Phosphatidylethanol in Clinical Samples by Use of a Simple Automated Extraction Procedure—Preanalytical and Analytical Conditions

Cardiac troponin is the supreme biomarker for the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction.  The ability of the clinical laboratory to provide rapid and reliable troponin results is critical for patient management in the emergency room.  In clinics and environments far from a laboratory, point-of-care troponin testing may be necessary for timely results and patient triage.  However, questions remain about the concordance among point of care and laboratory-based methods and whether the same result cut-offs should be used for clinical decision making. A study published in the March 2019 issue of The Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine investigates the analytical concordance of three point-of-care cardiac troponin I assays against the added high sensitivity troponin I assay.

Cardiac troponin is the supreme biomarker for the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction.  The ability of the clinical laboratory to provide rapid and reliable troponin results is critical for patient management in the emergency room.  In clinics and environments far from a laboratory, point-of-care troponin testing may be necessary for timely results and patient triage.  However, questions remain about the concordance among point of care and laboratory-based methods and whether the same result cut-offs should be used for clinical decision making. A study published in the March 2019 issue of The Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine investigates the analytical concordance of three point-of-care cardiac troponin I assays against the added high sensitivity troponin I assay.

Analytical Concordance of Diverse Point-of-Care and Central Laboratory Troponin I Assays

An original research article published in the September 2019 issue of the Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine describes the validation of a clinical chemistry score which incorporates high sensitivity troponin with other laboratory results of glucose and estimated glomerular filtration rate as an alternative assessment strategy for emergency room patients with possible myocardial infarction.

An original research article published in the September 2019 issue of the Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine describes the validation of a clinical chemistry score which incorporates high sensitivity troponin with other laboratory results of glucose and estimated glomerular filtration rate as an alternative assessment strategy for emergency room patients with possible myocardial infarction.

A Multicenter Assessment of the Sensitivity and Specificity for a Single High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin Test at Emergency Department Presentation for Hospital Admission

“Thrombophilia: Women-Specific Reference Ranges Can Prevent Misdiagnosis in Women” was published in the March 2018 issue of The Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine.  This work presents the establishment and impact of female-specific reference intervals for a variety of coagulation markers during pregnancy.

“Thrombophilia: Women-Specific Reference Ranges Can Prevent Misdiagnosis in Women” was published in the March 2018 issue of The Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine.  This work presents the establishment and impact of female-specific reference intervals for a variety of coagulation markers during pregnancy.

Thrombophilia: Women-Specific Reference Ranges Can Prevent Misdiagnosis in Women

Medical Cannabis and Pain Management

“Clinical Effect of Expedited Pathogen Identification and Susceptibility Testing for Gram-Negative Bacteremia and Candidemia by Use of the Accelerate PhenoTM System” was published in the January 2019 issue of The Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine.  This work evaluates the clinical impact on a new device for pathogen identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing.

“Clinical Effect of Expedited Pathogen Identification and Susceptibility Testing for Gram-Negative Bacteremia and Candidemia by Use of the Accelerate PhenoTM System” was published in the January 2019 issue of The Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine.  This work evaluates the clinical impact on a new device for pathogen identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing.

Clinical Effect of Expedited Pathogen Identification and Susceptibility Testing for Gram-Negative Bacteremia and Candidemia by Use of the Accelerate PhenoTM System

It’s Not Just a Needlestick:  Exploring Phlebotomists’ Knowledge, Training, And Use of Comfort Measures in Pediatric Care to Improve the Patient Experience

Clinical Laboratory Detection of a High-Level Hemoglobin Abnormality in a Patient with Suspected Recreational Drug Ingestion

α-Glutathione S-Transferase: A New Biomarker for Liver Injury? 

Reproducible Research and Reports with R

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