Storage of samples for measurement of testosterone and estradiol at temperatures above -20 degrees C can introduce large error variance to measured concentrations.”
“Aim. To study the association between blood hemoglobin concentration (b-hemoglobin) and serum ferritin concentration (s-ferritin) in an ambulant patient population without inflammation and with normal kidney function. Methods. In ambulant, adult patients with normal values of s-CRP and s-creatinine, median b-hemoglobin and the fraction with anemia was compared in groups with lower s-ferritin from a level

of 100 mu g/L. The 10, 50 and 90 percentiles of b-hemoglobin were modelled as functions of s-ferritin using quantile regression. Results. Among 3206 women the entire b-hemoglobin distribution was shifted downwards in patients with s-ferritin less than 20 mu g/L. Accordingly, the median b-hemoglobin CX-6258 cost was statistically significantly lower and the fraction with anemia was higher. In 1246 men the findings were similar, except that the turning point toward lower b-hemoglobin was at a s-ferritin level of 30 mu g/L. Conclusions. Low s-ferritin is associated with decreased b-hemoglobin in many more subjects than those labelled anemic.”
“Background. Point-of-care find more (POC) C-reactive protein (CRP) testing is increasingly used in primary care to assist general practitioners (GPs) in the diagnostic

workup for various complaints. The present study compares analytical performance, agreement and user-friendliness of five of these POC CRP tests. ALOX15 Methods. The following five POC CRP tests were evaluated: Afinion and NycoCard Reader II (both Alere), Eurolyser Smart 700/340 (Eurolyser), QuikRead go and QuikRead 101 (both Orion Diagnostica). Results were compared with those of a standard immunoturbidimetric method performed on a routine analyzer (Olympus AU 2700, Beckman Coulter). Analytical performance and agreement with the laboratory standard for

the five different POC tests were analyzed. Subsequently, user-friendliness of the POC tests was assessed. Results. Within-day CVs varied from 2.6% (QuikRead go) to 19.4% (Eurolyser Smart 700/340) for low CRP values (<20 mg/L), and 1.1% (QuikRead go) to 17.5% (Eurolyser Smart 700/340) for high values (>100 mg/L). Between-day CVs varied from 4.6% (Afinion) to 30.5% (Eurolyser Smart 700/340) for low values and 4.0% (QuikRead go) to 18.0% (Eurolyser Smart 700/340) for high values. With high CRP values (>100 mg/L) agreement with the laboratory standard systematically decreased for all POC tests. Regarding user-friendliness Afinion and Eurolyser Smart 700/340 were judged easiest to operate. Conclusions. Analytical performance, agreement, and user-friendliness of the POC CRP tests varied considerably, yet overall four devices showed adequate analytical performance and agreement.”
“Background.