Glucometers offer a simple and rapid method of self-monitoring blood glucose levels and are widely used by diabetic clinics and patients. The accuracy of a glucometer depends on the meter's performance as well as the user's proficiency level. It is also important to regularly use and calibrate the meter it in order to maintain consistent readings. Since glucometers are considered clinically accurate if the result is within +/- 15 mg/dL of the results of the manufacturer's measurement procedure at glucose concentrations < 75 mg/dL, and within +/- 20% at glucose concentrations > or = 75 mg/dL. It is crucial to compare the meter's result with a lab test result at least once a year in order to maintain the reliability of the meter. Diabetes educators should have thorough knowledge of each meter and be aware of its accuracy so that he or she can properly and accurately educate diabetic patients.
Blood Glucose ; Glucose ; Humans ; Pyridines ; Reading ; Thiazoles

PURPOSE: In evaluation of patients, laboratory results are crucial in determination of a treatment plan. Obtaining venous blood from infants and children is a difficult procedure. Substitution of a capillary blood sample for a venous blood sample has been suggested. However, there are few studies showing mutual correlation between C-reactive protein (CRP) results in capillary and venous blood. This study was designed to determine whether the result of the capillary sample is the same as the result of the venous blood sample. METHODS: After informed consent, a pair of venous and fingertip capillary blood samples were simultaneously collected from 100 children. The LC-178CRPTM was used for analysis of capillary blood and the Hitachi 7180 automatic hematology analyzer was used for analysis of venous blood. We compared CRP of both venous and capillary blood samples. Results were analyzed by crosstabulation analysis, simple regression analysis and the Bland Altman Plot method. RESULTS: A close correlation (90.63%) was observed between capillary and venous blood analyzed by crosstabulation analysis. CRP results were similar between the two groups and showed a high coefficient correlation (beta=1.3434, R2=0.9888, P<0.0001) when analyzed by a simple regression model. The average value in venous blood was also higher compared to capillary blood. According to Bland Altman Plot analysis, lab results were measured at a 95% confidence interval. CONCLUSION: CRP results from capillary blood showed close correlation with venous blood sampling. At present, venous blood sampling is the preferred method. However, due to difficulty in venous blood sampling, capillary sampling could be considered as an alternative technique for use with children.
Blood Vessels ; C-Reactive Protein ; Capillaries ; Child ; Hematology ; Humans ; Infant ; Informed Consent ; Punctures ; Pyridines ; Thiazoles

This study aims to compare the urate-lowering response rate of febuxostat and allopurinol in gout patient using a model-based meta-analysis. The literature search identified 22 clinical trials of gout with a total of 43 unique treatment arms that met our inclusion criteria, and a total of 6 365 gout patients were included in the study. The response rates of allopuriol and febuxostat were characterized by Tmax model and Emax model respectively, and the effect of baseline serum uric acid (sUA) and patient type on the drug effect was tested. The results showed that allopurinol can reach an average maximum response rate of 50.8% while febuxostat can reach a 100% response rate within a very short time, and the ED50 was 34.3 mg. Covariate analysis revealed that baseline sUA has a negative effect on response rate of allopurinol, and a positive effect on the predicted ED50 of febuxostat. For patients who had shown inadequate response to prior allopurinol treatment, the average response rate was about half that of the allopurinol responder patients.
Allopurinol ; therapeutic use ; Febuxostat ; Gout ; blood ; drug therapy ; Gout Suppressants ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Thiazoles ; therapeutic use ; Uric Acid ; blood

OBJECTIVE: To assess the association between platinum-based chemotherapy for gynecologic malignancy and the risk of diabetes mellitus. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We analyzed retrospectively the association between platinum-based chemotherapy and diabetes mellitus. Out of the 449 patients who received the chemotherapy in Severance Hospital from January 2002 to December 2005, 169 patients with serial measurements of fasting blood glucose throughout the chemotherapy period were enrolled in this study. The parameters that were analyzed included age, past history, family history, body mass index (BMI), serum glucose, type of cancer, chemotherapy regimen, dose cycle, time after cycle. We performed binomial test to compare the incidence in our patients with that of general population. RESULTS: In 8 patients (4.8%) diabetes mellitus developed during the treatment period. The median age of patients was 57 years, and the mean BMI was 27.0 kg/m2. All patients received platinum-based chemotherapy and seven of them received cisplatin based regimen and two patient was given carboplatin based regimen. Median cisplatin cumulative dose up until the diabetes mellitus occurred was 252 mg/m2 and that of carboplatin was 812 mg/m2. Median time until the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus after administration of the first chemotherapy cycle was 7 months. The overall incidence of hyperglycemia (4.8%) in patients treated with platinum-based chemotherapy is higher than the incidence of diabetes mellitus in the general population (2.1%). CONCLUSION: We suggest that regular monitoring of serum glucose levels which is not generally included in the pre-chemo lab values in patients receiving chemotherapy with platinum based regimen should be considered.
Blood Glucose ; Body Mass Index ; Carboplatin ; Cisplatin ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Fasting ; Glucose ; Humans ; Hyperglycemia ; Incidence ; Platinum ; Pyridines ; Retrospective Studies ; Thiazoles

Aging ; physiology ; Animals ; Arteries ; physiopathology ; Arteriosclerosis ; physiopathology ; Blood Pressure ; drug effects ; Diabetes Mellitus ; physiopathology ; Glycation End Products, Advanced ; antagonists & inhibitors ; metabolism ; physiology ; Guanidines ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Thiazoles ; pharmacology

OBJECTIVE: To report our experience with pyogenic spondylitis treated with anterior radical debridement and insertion of a titanium mesh cage and to demonstrate the effectiveness and safety of the use of a titanium mesh cage in the surgical management of pyogenic spondylitis. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical characteristics of 19 patients who underwent surgical treatment in our department between January 2004 and December 2008. The average follow-up period was 11.16 months (range, 6-64 months). We evaluated risk factors, cultured organisms, lab data, clinical outcomes, and radiographic results. Surgical techniques for patients with pyogenic spondylitis were anterior radical debridement and reconstruction with titanium mesh cage insertion and screw fixation. All patients received intravenous antibiotics for at least 6 weeks postoperatively, and some patients received oral antibiotics. RESULTS: The infections resolved in all of the patients as noted by normalization of their erythrocyte sedimentation rates and C-reactive protein levels. The mean pain score on a Visual Analog Scale was 7.8 (range, 4-10) before surgery and 2.4 (range, 1-5) after surgery. The Frankel grade was improved by one grade in seven patients. After surgery, the average difference of the angle was improved about 6.96degrees in all patients. At the last follow-up, the mean loss of correction was 4.86degrees. CONCLUSION: Anterior radical debridement followed by the placement of instrumentation with a titanium mesh cage may be a safe and effective treatment for selected patients with pyogenic spondylitis. This surgical therapy does not lead to recurrent pyogenic spondylitis.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Blood Sedimentation ; C-Reactive Protein ; Debridement ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Pyridines ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Spondylitis ; Thiazoles ; Titanium

BACKGROUND: To prevent blood-borne infections and guarantee safe transfusion, we proposed a quality assurance program for donor screening tests, such as hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and anti-hepatitis C virus antibody (anti-HCV), by introducing external proficiency testing for the laboratories that perform donor screening tests. METHODS: The materials for external proficiency testing (PT) were prepared from the HBsAg Standard Panels and anti-HCV Reference Panels provided by the Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA), and the normal Human Serum was provided by the Serum Bank of the Korea National Research Resource Center. The external PT materials were sent to 83 laboratories that performed donor screening tests after evaluating their quality. RESULTS: The results of evaluating the quality of the PT materials were acceptable. All the laboratories receiving the materials answered with a 100% response rate. All the laboratories answered that they obtained positive results for the HBsAg Standard Panel E, H, I and J; however, one laboratory answered in the gray-zone and that lab had negative results for HBsAg Standard Panel C and G. Seventy laboratories (84%) and 42 laboratories (51%) among the total 83 laboratories answered they had positive results for HBsAg Standard Panel B and D, suggesting that many laboratories could not detect a low level of HBsAg. All 83 laboratories answered that they had concordant results for the external PT for anti-HCV. CONCLUSION: Donor screening laboratories can detect low levels of HBsAg and anti-HCV without any errors and the performance of the laboratories that could not detect low levels of HBsAg remains to be improved. Quality assurance program using external PT with materials that contain various genotypes and mutants should be conducted to maintain the quality of donor screening tests.
Blood Donors ; Donor Selection ; Genotype ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Humans ; Korea ; Mass Screening ; Pyridines ; Thiazoles ; United States Food and Drug Administration ; Viruses

An improved method to determine meloxicam (MEL) concentrations in koala plasma using reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography equipped with a photo diode array detector was developed and validated. A plasma sample clean-up step was carried out with hydrophilic-lipophilic copolymer solid phase extraction cartridges. MEL was separated from an endogenous interference using an isocratic mobile phase [acetonitrile and 50 mM potassium phosphate buffer (pH 2.15), 45:55 (v:v)] on a Nova-Pak C18 4-microm (300 x 3.9 mm) column. Retention times for MEL and piroxicam were 8.03 and 5.56 min, respectively. Peak area ratios of MEL to the internal standard (IS) were used for regression analysis of the calibration curve, which was linear from 10 to 1,000 ng/mL (r2 > 0.9998). Average absolute recovery rates were 91% and 96% for MEL and the IS, respectively. This method had sufficient sensitivity (lower quantitation limit of 10 ng/mL), precision, accuracy, and selectivity for routine analysis of MEL in koala plasma using 250-microL sample volumes. Our technique clearly resolved the MEL peak from the complex koala plasma matrix and accurately measured MEL concentrations in small plasma volumes.
Animals ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal/*blood ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid/methods/*veterinary ; Molecular Structure ; Phascolarctidae/*blood ; Piroxicam/chemistry ; Quality Control ; Reproducibility of Results ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Thiazines/*blood ; Thiazoles/*blood

An improved method to determine meloxicam (MEL) concentrations in koala plasma using reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography equipped with a photo diode array detector was developed and validated. A plasma sample clean-up step was carried out with hydrophilic-lipophilic copolymer solid phase extraction cartridges. MEL was separated from an endogenous interference using an isocratic mobile phase [acetonitrile and 50 mM potassium phosphate buffer (pH 2.15), 45:55 (v:v)] on a Nova-Pak C18 4-microm (300 x 3.9 mm) column. Retention times for MEL and piroxicam were 8.03 and 5.56 min, respectively. Peak area ratios of MEL to the internal standard (IS) were used for regression analysis of the calibration curve, which was linear from 10 to 1,000 ng/mL (r2 > 0.9998). Average absolute recovery rates were 91% and 96% for MEL and the IS, respectively. This method had sufficient sensitivity (lower quantitation limit of 10 ng/mL), precision, accuracy, and selectivity for routine analysis of MEL in koala plasma using 250-microL sample volumes. Our technique clearly resolved the MEL peak from the complex koala plasma matrix and accurately measured MEL concentrations in small plasma volumes.
Animals ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal/*blood ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid/methods/*veterinary ; Molecular Structure ; Phascolarctidae/*blood ; Piroxicam/chemistry ; Quality Control ; Reproducibility of Results ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Thiazines/*blood ; Thiazoles/*blood

OBJECTIVETo observe the clinical effect of Wenhua Juanbi Recipe (WJR) in treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA), its effects in reducing the dosage of Western medicine used and stabilizing condition of disease, as well as its influences on peripheral blood levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin 1beta (IL-1beta) and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody (anti-CCP), for the sake of exploring its preliminary acting mechanism.

METHODSOne hundred patients with RA were randomly assigned to 2 groups, the control group and the treated group, 50 in each group. All were treated with oral administration of methotrexate (MTX,7.5 mg per week), sulfasalazine (0.5 g, tid) and meloxicam (Mobic, 7.5 mg, bid), but to the treated group WJR was given additionally. The therapeutic course for both groups was 3 months. Clinical effect, changes of symptoms and physical signs, dosages of western medicines used, and laboratory indices in 2 groups after treatment were observed, and cases of relapse 3 months after treatment were figured out.

RESULTSThe total effective rate in the treated group was higher than that in the control group (88.0% vs 76.0%, P<0.05). The improvements in scores of symptoms and signs [joint pain (0.61 +/- 0.59), swelling (1.49 +/- 1.20), tenderness (0.90 +/- 0.69), movement (0.68 +/- 0.62), griping strength (68.56 +/- 6.50) mm Hg, morning stiff time (23.26 +/- 9.26) min], and in levels of laboratory indices (TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, anti-CCP, RF, ESR, CRP, PLT and Ig) in the treated group after treatment were significantly superior to those in the control group (P<0.05 or P<0.01). The dosages of MTX [(82.11 +/- 11.35) mg vs (94.75 +/- 10.23) mg] and meloxicam [(108.85 +/- 16.13) mg vs (189.63 +/- 18.44) mg] used, and the relapse rate in the treated group were lower significantly (P<0.05, P<0.01) than those in the control group respectively.

CONCLUSIONSEffect of combined therapy of WJR and Western medicines is superior to that of using Western medicines alone in treating RA; WJR can reduce the dosages of Western medicines used and the relapse rate, as well as stabilize the condition of illness. It has the effects of immune regulating and anti-inflammatory reaction. Its mechanism for treating RA is possibly the inhibition on cytokines of TNF-alpha and IL-1beta.

Adult ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; blood ; drug therapy ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Interleukin-1beta ; blood ; Male ; Methotrexate ; therapeutic use ; Middle Aged ; Phytotherapy ; Thiazines ; therapeutic use ; Thiazoles ; therapeutic use ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; blood ; Young Adult