Blood Gases, Electrolytes, and Metabolites Point-of-Care Testing at La Paz University Hospital

Abstract

La Paz is a large university hospital that covers a population of more than 800,000 habitants. In 1998, there were 6 blood gases analyzers outside the laboratory and 4 in the emergency laboratory belonging to 4 different manufacturers. Devices installed in critical care units were controlled directly by nonlaboratory health care personnel. As proposed by the board of directors, we decided to take over the leadership and coordination of an already existing point-of-care testing (POCT) project and to broaden it to other critical care units. A POCT director and coordinator were named. As a first step, 11 devices for blood gases, electrolytes, and metabolites were installed and connected to a data management system and controlled from the emergency laboratory. In 2002, the project increased, including 4 POCT units more, with another 4 added in 2006. Currently, there are 17 devices outside the emergency laboratory, 3 in the stat laboratory, and 1 in a peripheral laboratory. A specific training program is designed for the operators. More than 1200 operators have received the initial training in the current period. In 2002, a multidisciplinary POCT committee was created, and at the end of 2006, the committee decided to incorporate a personal identification protocol. In conclusion, since established, the project's 2 main objectives have been attained: to assure the quality of the test results and to reduce the turnaround time. Some other clear advantages of the project are the unifying of the technology for the same test and having a unique supplier.