Blood glucose monitoring in the ICU
Although there is still disagreement as to ‘how’, when it comes to the question of whether the glucose level affects the prognosis for intensive care patients, the answer is a definite ‘yes’. ‘
The 31st ISICEM
Jean-Louis Vincent, Chairman of the Dept of Intensive Care, Erasme Hospital, Université Libre de Bruxelles, welcomes visitors to this year’s International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine.
15th birthday for Lab Automation 2011
Focused exclusively on the rapidly growing field of laboratory automation, Lab Automation 2011will discuss and demonstrate the latest scientific and technological advances in this field. Presented by the Laboratory Automation Section (LAS) of the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS), the event is expected to attract more than 4,000 scientists, academics and business leaders.
Bayer Healthcare’s 7th European Diabetes Nursing Symposium
In November, European diabetologists converged on Leverkusen, Germany, to discuss current practices in diabetic management of Type 1 and Type 2 in adults, as well as new technologies, procedures and the need for patients’ education.
POCT brings values
Bedside testing of parameters has been introduced in clinical practice much earlier than laboratory testing: In past centuries, not only were temperature or pulse rate taken at the point of care (POC), but also qualitative blood or urine analysis were performed right next to a patient’s bed
Advancing POC diagnostics
Improvements in microfluidics and detection technologies are beginning to expand the range of point-of-care diagnostics beyond simple blood chemistry tests to sophisticated immuno-assays and molecular diagnostics. Though yet to see much adoption in European hospitals, these point-of-care (POC) diagnostics are coming into use in the USA, initially in emergency rooms and ICUs where fast results are…
The future of mass spectrometry in laboratory medicine
The world consists of molecules – so do we. With the progression of measurement tools such as microscopes, centrifuges, or spectrometers, mankind is becoming better and better in identifying the substances from which our world is made. Today, with the technical developments in mass spectrometry, biomolecules can be weighted with the highest precision and accuracy ever known, placing it among…
Protecting a specialty and warding off commercialisation
For some time, German pathology has only been in the background of the medical disciplines. However, during the last ten years the profession stepped up to the fore. In the face of molecular medicine developments, the German Association of Pathologists redefined its members position with revived self-confidence.
Article • Reading tissues
Pathologists enable targeted cancer therapy
The trend towards personalised medicine implies the development of targeted cancer therapy. Tissue based examinations by pathologists play a key role in this trend. However, the relevance is still underestimated as pathologist Professor Manfred Dietel noted in his lecture at the European Forum on Oncology 2010 in Berlin, which explained what pathology already actually renders to targeted cancer…
How do you teach professionalism in pharmacy?
Students and teaching staff expressed difficulty in defining professionalism in pharmacy clearly and succintly. For most it seems to more an implicit than explicit concept, ie "you know it when you see it" according to a study undertaken in UK schools of pharmacy.
A rapid NT-proBNP cardiac biomarker test to manage HF
Used in conjunction with clinical assessment, the new Triage NT-proBNP (N-terminal pro b-type natriuretic peptide) test is a useful biomarker in the diagnosis and management of patients with heart failure (HF) its manufacturer Alere International reports.
EASD 2010 review
7,000 people from 120 countries met in Stockholm this September to hear international experts discuss the progress, solutions and challenges of one of our greatest healthcare burdens. Prevention, self-monitoring, surgery, guidelines, economic problems, drug-safety, and co-morbidities – these are just a few of the problems associated with the care of about 55 million diabetics in Europe.
Cardiac and sepsis markers
Prior to October’s 3rd Annual Congress of the Austrian Society for Laboratory Medicine and Clinical Chemistry in Salzburg, Austria, laboratory experts conveyed their opinions in an interview with Michael Krassnitzer from European Hospital.
Biomarkers - Keys to prevention and early detection
Biomarkers as the key to prevention and early detection were the subject this autumn at the 7th Annual Congress of the German Society for Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (DGKL) in Mannheim. For the DGKL president Professor Karl J Lackner MD, Director of the Institute for Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine at Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, the topic is of increasing…
Urine protein could pave the way for new prostate cancer test
Scientists from the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Research Institute and The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) built on earlier genome-wide research to link a genetic change associated with prostate cancer risk to a significant reduction in the amount of a protein called microseminoprotein-beta (MSMB). The protein - which regulates prostate cell death - is produced by normal prostate cells –…
Hungarian sludge in K.U.Leuven lab
On 4 October, the waste reservoir of an aluminium factory in Hungary burst. Red sludge, which is the waste resulting from the production of aluminium, flooded nearby villages. In the second week of October, researchers were granted access to the area. Doctoral student Stefan Ruyters and postdoctoral researcher Jelle Mertens of the Division of Soil and Water Management (Faculty of Bioengineering)…
Microchip separates and extracts tumour cells in the blood
Ikerlan-IK4 and Mondragón Unibertsitatea are taking part in a project initiated by the Spanish National Research Council, CSIC, and which has developed a microchip capable of separating and extracting tumour cells in the blood stream by means of ultrasonic waves. The Foundation General Hospital of the University of Elche, together with researcher Alfredo Carrato, has also collaborated on this…
Cancer screening made simple
Current cervical cancer screening is time consuming and expensive, but now new breakthrough technology developed by European researchers should allow large-range screening by non-medical personnel with almost immediate results and at a much lower cost.
Body Volume Index (BVI) measurement launched
A new obesity measurement for the 21st Century, which can help identify individuals at risk of illness such as heart disease, strokes and diabetes, has been officially launched this week. The Body Volume Index (BVI), designed by Select Research, uses a 3D white-light scanner to calculate risk factors associated with a person's body shape and type, through analysis of weight and body fat…
Study shows nurses taking charge of diabetes care in hospital means more patients hit target glucose levels
A nurse-initiated, nurse-led, and nurse-implemented study shows that nurses taking charge of diabetes care in hospital results in more patients hitting their target glucose levels. The study was led by Esther Boteach, Soroka University Medical Center Beer-Sheva, Israel, and co-workers.
Aired at EFORT: Guidelines for Charcot Foot
When Swiss orthopaedic surgeon Dr Marino Delmi, Past-President of the Swiss Foot & Ankle Society, Member of the Council of the European Foot & Ankle Society, and of the Scientific Foot & Ankle Council of the European Federation of National Associations of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (EFORT), met with other experts in the field, three critical diabetes topics were explored.
Standardised algorithms and protocols for diabetic in-patients
Dr Susan S Braithwaite, a visiting clinical professor in endocrinology at the Department of Medicine, University of Illinois, Chicago, specialises in the management of hyperglycaemia among hospitalised patients. Hyperglycaemia, the presence of an abnormally high concentration of glucose in the blood, is a common occurrence in adults who are hospital in-patients, especially among diabetic…
Deadly disease, dismal summary
Recently, the prevalence of diabetes mellitus in the Czech Republic reached 7-8% (783,321 diabetics were treated last year – 419,362 females and 363,959 males) but this figure leaps to 25-30% for diabetes related hospitalisations.
Finnish health initiatives help reduce the incidence of diabetes
Finland’s national programme for the prevention of Type 2 diabetes (T2D) has already seen a significant sector of the population making meaningful lifestyle changes, while work is also progressing on Type 1 diabetes research in children.
Concern over insulin drug withdrawal
Drug company Novo Nordisk’s decision to pull its Mixtard 30 insulin drug from the UK could add almost €11 million to the NHS drugs bill in England alone, according to an editorial in the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB). This decision could also leave thousands of patients dependent on others to help them take their insulin, said DTB, as it launched its Don’t Drop Mixtard 30 campaign in…
