American Association for Clinical Chemistry
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NACB Blog
Procalcitonin: The Answer to the Sepsis Dilemma?

3/29/2011 8:01 AM | Comments (6) Recommend (1,909)

By Alison Woodworth, PhD, DABCC, FACB
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Sepsis is systemic inflammation due to infection.  It is the most common cause of death in intensive care units (1), with a mortality rate up to 50% depending on severity.  Sepsis can be considered in individuals with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) manifested by alterations in at le...(Read More)
Posted at 3/29/2011 8:01 AM | Tags: New/Other Disease Markers | Immunology/Infectious Disease
Estimating GFR: What’s Wrong With Using Serum Creatinine Alone?

1/25/2011 8:15 AM | Comments (5) Recommend (1,658)

By Callum Fraser, PhD
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The MDRD (Modification of Diet in Renal Disease) Study equation is widely used to estimate glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and many laboratories report this every time a serum creatinine is requested. However, it has been widely reported that such calculated values underestimate GFR when creatin...(Read More)
Posted at 1/25/2011 8:15 AM | Tags: Management/Medical Informatics | Immunology/Infectious Disease