JALM Talk Podcast

Practical Approach to Eliminate Bilirubin Interference in Icteric Samples for Creatinine Measurement 27.11.2019 7:01 ↓

Clinical chemistry assays are widely impacted by inherent interferences in patient blood samples such as hemolysis, icterus, and lipemia.  These interferences can cause inaccurate laboratory results and may even prevent the laboratory from releasing test results to ordering health care providers.  In particular, the interference of bilirubin in various creatinine assays is common.  Inaccurately re...

Laboratory Test Utilization and Repeat Testing for Inpatients of Age 80 and Over in Australia 08.10.2019 8:45 ↓

An original research article published in the September 2019 issue of the Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine describes a study which investigated whether laboratory tests were being properly utilized for hospitalized patients aged 80 years and older.

A Multicenter Assessment of the Sensitivity and Specificity for a Single High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin Test at Emergency Department Presentation for Hospital Admission 08.10.2019 12:45 ↓

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.

Development of Reference Materials for Noninvasive Prenatal Aneuploidy Testing by Massively Parallel Sequencing: A Proof-of-Concept Study 30.07.2019 8:55 ↓

An original research article published in the July 2019 issue of the Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine , describes a proof-of-concept study which tested the possibility of using artificial plasma matrix spiked with fragmented genomic DNA from immortalized cell lines to produce reference material for noninvasive prenatal testing assays. 

Isotyping of Paraprotein Irresolvable by Routine Immunofixation Electrophoresis 30.07.2019 10:20 ↓

Serum protein electrophoresis and immunofixation electrophoresis are critical laboratory assays in the identification of monoclonal proteins.  Monoclonal proteins, also called "M spikes" or "paraproteins," may be due to monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, but they may also indicate malignant diagnoses such as multiple myeloma or lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma. Protein electrophoresis s...

D-dimer: Common Assay, Challenges Abound, Caution Advised 19.03.2019 7:54 ↓

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;...