Point-of-care testing
Encyclopedia
Point-of-care testing is defined as medical testing at or near the site of patient
care. The driving notion behind POCT is to bring the test conveniently and immediately to the patient. This increases the likelihood that the patient, physician, and care team will receive the results quicker, which allows for immediate clinical management decisions to be made. POCT includes: blood glucose testing, blood gas and electrolytes analysis, rapid coagulation testing(PT/INR,Alere), rapid cardiac markers diagnostics(TRIAGE,Alere), drugs of abuse screening, urine strips testing, pregnancy testing, fecal occult blood analysis, food pathogens screening, hemoglobin diagnostics, infectious disease testing and cholesterol screening.
POCT is accomplished through the use of transportable, portable, and handheld instruments (e.g., blood glucose meter, nerve conduction study
device) and test kits (e.g., CRP, HBA1C, Homocystein, HIV salivary assay, etc.). Cheaper, smaller, faster, and smarter POCT devices have increased the use of POCT approaches by making it cost-effective for many diseases, such as diabetes, carpal tunnel syndrome
(CTS) and acute coronary syndrome
.
creatinine, haemoglobin, prothrombin time
.
POCT has become established worldwide and finds vital roles in public health. Many monographs in the Thai and Indonesian
languages emphasize POCT as the normal standard of care.
Potential operational benefits of POCT:More rapid decision making and triage, reduce operating times, reduce high-dependency, postoperative care time, reduce emergency room time, reduce number of outpatient clinic visits, reduce number of hospital beds required, ensure optimal use of professional time.
Patient
A patient is any recipient of healthcare services. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, advanced practice registered nurse, veterinarian, or other health care provider....
care. The driving notion behind POCT is to bring the test conveniently and immediately to the patient. This increases the likelihood that the patient, physician, and care team will receive the results quicker, which allows for immediate clinical management decisions to be made. POCT includes: blood glucose testing, blood gas and electrolytes analysis, rapid coagulation testing(PT/INR,Alere), rapid cardiac markers diagnostics(TRIAGE,Alere), drugs of abuse screening, urine strips testing, pregnancy testing, fecal occult blood analysis, food pathogens screening, hemoglobin diagnostics, infectious disease testing and cholesterol screening.
POCT is accomplished through the use of transportable, portable, and handheld instruments (e.g., blood glucose meter, nerve conduction study
Nerve conduction study
A nerve conduction study is a test commonly used to evaluate the function, especially the ability of electrical conduction, of the motor and sensory nerves of the human body.Nerve conduction velocity is a common measurement made during this test...
device) and test kits (e.g., CRP, HBA1C, Homocystein, HIV salivary assay, etc.). Cheaper, smaller, faster, and smarter POCT devices have increased the use of POCT approaches by making it cost-effective for many diseases, such as diabetes, carpal tunnel syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is an entrapment idiopathic median neuropathy, causing paresthesia, pain, and other symptoms in the distribution of the median nerve due to its compression at the wrist in the carpal tunnel. The pathophysiology is not completely understood but can be considered compression...
(CTS) and acute coronary syndrome
Acute coronary syndrome
Acute coronary syndrome is usually one of three diseases involving the coronary arteries: ST elevation myocardial infarction , non ST elevation myocardial infarction , or unstable angina ....
.
Technology
Many point-of-care test systems are realized as easy-to-use membrane-based test strips, often enclosed by a plastic test cassette. This concept often is realized in test systems for detecting pathogens. Very recently such test systems for rheumatology diagnostics have been developed, too. These tests require only a single drop of whole blood, urine or saliva, and they can be performed and interpreted by any general physician within minutes.Primary care
Glucose, HbA1C, microalbumin, electrolytes, cholesterol, C-reactive protein, urinalysis, chlamydia, HIV, coagulation markers, streptococcal infectionEmergency room
electrolytes, blood gases and H+, glucose, creatinine, amylase, drugs (overdose and abuse), cardiac markers, brain-specific proteins, coagulation markersIntensive care
electrolytes, ionised calcium and magnesium, blood gases and H+, glucose, lactate, osmolalitycreatinine, haemoglobin, prothrombin time
Benefits
Major benefits are obtained when the output of a POCT device is made available immediately within an electronic medical record. Results can be shared instantaneously with all members of the medical team through the software interface enhancing communication by decreasing turn around time (TAT). A reduction in morbidity and mortality has been associated with goal-directed therapy (GDT) techniques when used in conjunction with POCT and the electronic medical recordElectronic medical record
An electronic medical record is a computerized medical record created in an organization that delivers care, such as a hospital or physician's office...
.
POCT has become established worldwide and finds vital roles in public health. Many monographs in the Thai and Indonesian
Indonesian language
Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a normative form of the Riau Islands dialect of Malay, an Austronesian language which has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries....
languages emphasize POCT as the normal standard of care.
Potential operational benefits of POCT:More rapid decision making and triage, reduce operating times, reduce high-dependency, postoperative care time, reduce emergency room time, reduce number of outpatient clinic visits, reduce number of hospital beds required, ensure optimal use of professional time.