Introduction
Medical testing carried out at or close to the point of care is referred to as point-of-care testing, or POC testing. POC in this sense refers to the patient's location. Waiting a while for findings implies sending all samples and specimens to be processed at medical labs. This may result in patients receiving care without their care team's full knowledge of their needs or in time being squandered in crucial situations. Instead, POC testing makes it much simpler to get data quickly and accurately. Medical professionals can more readily make educated decisions regarding a patient's treatment and care now that these results are available.
Laboratory versus POC testing: advantages and disadvantages
The speedier turnaround time for results is the key benefit of point-of-care testing. Results are typically also provided in a style that is simpler to understand, however this is not always the case, and results may still need to be safely interpreted by a healthcare expert. People without proper laboratory training can also carry out POC testing. Nurses, physicians, paramedics, and patient testing are all included in this. Near-patient testing can take many different forms, such as urinalysis, blood glucose monitoring, malaria antigen testing, pregnancy tests, and many more.
These tests frequently call for the collection of very simple samples, such as bodily fluids (such as saliva or urine) or finger-prick blood. Together with other portable medical equipment, such as thermometers or blood pressure sensors, they can provide speedy and convenient medical examination.
POC testing may, however, have drawbacks. Studies have shown, for instance, that errors may occur more frequently with POC testing than with laboratory testing depending on the technology utilized in the device. This could happen because the POC testing environment is typically less regulated than laboratory circumstances and the results could be more susceptible to outside intervention than laboratory processes, which could result in inaccurate results.
Point-of-care hematology testing
Hematology is one of the medical specialties where point-of-care diagnostics has gained popularity. POC testing devices have become more sophisticated in recent years as a result of continuing advancements in medical device innovation. The POC hemoglobin meter has been a well-liked and practical tool for many years. However, when compared to a laboratory complete blood count, this only reveals a small portion of the pertinent or relevant data that may be gleaned from a thorough examination of the blood cells.
More recently, the creation of a point-of-care complete blood count analyser has been made possible by the employment of a variety of approaches in conjunction with cutting-edge digital technology. Engineers have used various wavelength light absorption, near-infrared spectroscopy, and digital microscopy among other methods to do this.
With less invasive sample collection, faster processing, and greater convenience, the complete blood count can now be performed as a point-of-care test with the same accuracy as traditional laboratory findings. One of the various tests that POC testing equipment may do is complete blood counts. Other typical point-of-care testing tools for hematology include:
Prothrombin time analyzers, used to assess blood clots.
aPTT testing for the evaluation of hemostasis.
D-dimer testing to rule out DVT or pulmonary embolism
Viscoelastic tests for obstetrics and trauma.
Testing the activated clotting time to keep track of heparin levels
Malaria testing using the antigen of the malarial parasite.
The most popular and up-to-date point-of-care testing tools available today have been demonstrated to deliver accurate and dependable hematological findings, encouraging higher quality medical care for a variety of illnesses.