Search Tag: blood test

2020 25 May

By pulling down one’s eyelid and assessing its redness, a doctor can identify if the person has anaemia, but to give a precise diagnosis a blood test is needed. New software, however, allows for medical staff to instantly get a near-accurate count of haemoglobin from a picture taken with a smartphone.   You may also like: DeepMining...Read more

2019 28 Aug

It has been highlighted that patients suffering from a concussion can have CT scans which show no irregularities and patients can go on to be discharged with no further treatment. A new, cost-effective blood test may be able to identify these patients for subsequent evaluation.   The study, from UC San Francisco, analysed 450 patients who had obtained...Read more

2018 14 Feb

New research published in the European Heart Journal suggests a new blood test could help detect patients who are at higher risk of cardiovascular disease after suffering a heart attack. The findings may guide scientists in identifying new targets for reducing the risk, which could lead to more effective treatments. "We have made huge strides over...Read more

2016 20 Jan

More precise use of antibiotics may result from a blood test, according to an observational study from scientists at Duke Health, published in Science Translational Medicine . The infectious disease and genomics experts developed ‘gene signatures’, which are patterns that reflect which of a patient’s genes are turned on or off, to indicate whether...Read more

2015 12 Oct

According to findings of trials on 6304 people, it was found that a blood test could halve the number of people admitted to hospital with a suspected heart attack. The findings are published in the Lancet.   The rapid test evaluates chemical in the blood and could help reduce stress for patients as well as money and it could also ease pressure on...Read more

2015 18 Aug

A new study in BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making describes how information theory can be used to quantify the amounts of redundant information associated with common ICU laboratory tests. Researchers say that information theory can help identify and discourage unnecessary testing and bloodwork, and can be a useful data analytic tool especially...Read more

2015 21 May

A simple blood test to measure brain-specific proteins released after a person suffers a traumatic brain injury (TBI) has been shown to predict both evidence of TBI on radiographic imaging and injury severity. A multicentre study, published in Journal of Neurotrauma , describes the potential benefit of adding detection of glial fibrillary acidic protein...Read more

2015 11 Apr

Standard assessments that nurses already use to care for patients can provide data that significantly improve the ability to predict survival following a liver transplant and may help improve patient outcomes. This finding is based on a study from Liver Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and published in the journal Hepatology ....Read more

2015 24 Mar

Researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center (NC, USA) have found that the results of a blood test done immediately after heart surgery could be a meaningful indicator of postoperative stroke risk. The finding is published online in the Annals of Thoracic Surgery . An acutely elevated level of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) — a measure of kidney...Read more

2015 02 Mar

According to an article published in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, laboratory testing among patients undergoing cardiac surgery can lead to excessive bloodletting and can increase the risk of developing hospital-acquired anaemia and the need for blood transfusion. Previous research already shows that patients who receive blood transfusions...Read more

2015 25 Feb

According to research published by Bournemouth University, a new test rules out heart attacks in patients and could potentially reduce hospital admissions by as much as 40 percent. The research has published in the BMJ Heart Journal . The research administered a blood test to patients who came to the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Departments with...Read more

2015 22 Feb

According to researchers, combining data from two standard diagnostic tests commonly obtained in children evaluated for abdominal pain can help physicians to identify those patients who need surgery for appendicitis; those who may be admitted for observation; and those who may safely be discharged home. The findings are published online in the Journal...Read more

2015 12 Feb

A new smartphone accessory can rapidly detect three infectious disease markers from a single drop of blood drawn from a finger. The device connects to a smartphone or computer and replicates the electrical, mechanical and optical functions of a lab-based blood test. It builds upon the previous work of the research team in miniaturising equipment for...Read more

2014 17 Nov

Baseline levels of serum interferon in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients may help rheumatologists determine who may have a poor response to tumour necrosis factor-alpha inhibitor drugs. This new finding could eventually help rheumatologists determine the best possible options for treating individual patients suffering from RA. The findings were presented...Read more

2014 07 Nov

On-the-spot tests for bacterial infections, which only take about three minutes to process, may help to reduce excessive use of antibiotics. Researchers in Denmark performed a systematic review showing that doctors who tested for the presence of bacterial infections were prescribing fewer antibiotics. Their findings are published online in The Cochrane...Read more

2014 05 Nov

More than 800 markers have been identified in the blood of cancer patients that could potentially lead to the development of a single blood test for early detection of many cancer types. In a study conducted by the UK Early Cancer Detection Consortium (ECDC), which was presented at the National Cancer Research Institute Conference in Liverpool, researchers...Read more

2014 14 Oct

According to a new study, a blood test could determine who is at high risk for developing schizophrenia and other forms of psychosis. The research, conducted by Dr. Diana O. Perkins of the University of North Carolina and her research team, has been published in Schizophrenia Bulletin. Schizophrenia affects around 24 million people worldwide and is...Read more

2014 12 Sep

A single drop of blood may be all that is required to diagnose a majority of colorectal cancers, with the introduction of a new test by Belgian startup company VolitionRX. The test could represent a less dreaded (and less expensive) option for colorectal screening than colonoscopy and faecal tests, unpleasant procedures which contribute to keeping...Read more

2014 11 Sep

There is no doubt that blood culture isolates are the cornerstone of adequate antibiotic treatment but it is a fact that many blood cultures are contaminated with bacteria residing on the skin. The most common of these contaminants are coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS). Contaminated cultures are generally discarded and disregarded,...Read more

2014 18 Aug

Recent research published in BMJ Open shows that there are significant price differences for ten common blood tests in California hospitals. While some patients were charged as little as $10 for one test, there were others that were charged $10,169 for the same test. More than 150 hospitals in California were analysed and tests such as lipid panel,...Read more

2014 15 Jul

An inexpensive, portable, nanotech microchip-based test for diagnosing type-1 diabetes has been invented at the Stanford University School of Medicine. It is believed that this innovation could go a long way in improving care for diabetes patients worldwide and enable researchers and medical professionals to better understand the disease. The revolutionary...Read more

2013 20 Nov

More than 5 billion laboratory tests conducted each year in the US, making it healthcare’s single highest volume activity. A major study analysing 15 years worth of published research finds several surprising elements concerning the humble blood test. Led by investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and reported on-line...Read more