Point of care testing improves process but not outcome in patients in A and E

Point of care testing improves process but not outcome in patients in A and E

Point of care tests are any laboratory tests done outside a hospital's central laboratory, particularly those done at a patient'sbedside. In the first randomised controlled trial of point ofcare testing, Kendall et al (p 1052) found that clinical outcomewas similar for patients whose blood samples were analysed inthe accident and emergency department and for those whose sampleswere analysed in the hospital's laboratory. Point of care testingreduced the time taken to decide a management plan, but patientsdid not spend less time in the department, or have shorter hospitalstays, decreased admission rates, or lower mortality.

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Point of care testing: randomised controlled trial of clinical outcome: Jason Kendall, Barnaby Reeves, and Michael Clancy
BMJ 1998 316: 1052-1057. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]