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Introduction With increasing automation in clinical laboratories, the requirements for quality control (QC) material have greatly increased in order to monitor performance. The constant use of commercial control material is not economically feasible for many countries because of nonavailability or the high-cost of those materials. Therefore, preparation and use of in-house QC serum will be a very cost-effective measure with respect to laboratory needs. Materials and Methods In-house internal quality control from leftover serum samples of master health checkup subjects, which have been screened negative for HIV, HCV and HBsAg antibodies was pooled in a glass jar with ethanediol as preservative and kept in deep freezer at - 20°C. From the pooled serum, 100 microliter thirty aliquots were prepared. Every day along with commercial internal QC (IQC), one aliquot of pooled serum was analyzed for 30 days for the following parameters: plasma glucose, blood urea, serum creatinine, total cholesterol, triglycerides (TGL), high-density lipoprotein, calcium, total protein, albumin, total bilirubin, AST, ALT, ALP, amylase. After getting 30 values for each parameter, mean, standard deviation (SD) and CV% were calculated for both IQC commercial sample and pooled serum sample. Results The mean, SD, and CV% of glucose, cholesterol, TGL, calcium, alanine aminotransaminase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), amylase, and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were statistically significant between pooled serum and commercial QC. Conclusion In-house QC prepared from pooled serum is better than commercial internal QC. The biochemical parameters were stable in pooled serum due to less matrix effect; also, variation was less in pooled serum IQC.
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Background: Current research in medical education is increasingly exploring the relevance of emotional intelligence (EI) in the successful performance of health-care people. As assessments of core domains are markers of actual performance of the student when he or she is not observed, this systematic review was aimed to answer the question "what is the influence of EI on objective parameters of academic performance in undergraduate medical, dental, and nursing students aged 18-30 years?" Methods: Databases were systematically searched for empirical studies which measured EI of medical, nursing, or dental undergraduate students and compared it with academic performance during graduation years from January 1, 2000, to August 30, 2016. Quality appraisal and data abstraction was done by two independent authors. Results: Six hundred and twenty-three articles were retrieved from systematic search. Of these, 25 articles were selected. Quality appraisal further led to exclusion of two studies which did not meet ethical criterion. Medical undergraduates were included in 12, dental in 4, and nursing in 7 studies. Four studies examined the relationship of EI with clinical skills, 8 with communication skills, and 18 with overall academic performance. Discussion: The findings of review show that EI has a greater role in academic success of clinical year medical and dental students. Although the review has addressed different rungs of the health-care profession separately, it preludes that better EI skills of health-care team will have a holistic impact on health-care improvement.
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Academic Performance , Emotional Intelligence , Students, Health Occupations/psychology , Adult , Clinical Competence , Communication , Female , Health Occupations/education , Humans , MaleABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the primary cause of morbidity and premature mortality in chronic kidney disease (CKD). The transcription factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) gene product TCF4 is a transcription factor that acts as a downstream effector in the canonical Wnt signaling pathway and may be important in the development of both type 2 diabetes and renal development and disease. It is, therefore, plausible that mutations in this gene could manifest themselves in reduced kidney function or kidney disease through their effects on hyperglycemia as well as independent of this mechanism. The ATP2B1 gene encodes the plasma membrane calcium ATPase isoform 1, which removes bivalent calcium ions from eukaryotic cells against very large concentration gradients and is responsible for controlling the contraction and dilation of vascular smooth muscles. AIM AND OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study are (1) to evaluate single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of TCF7L2 gene as cardiovascular risk predictors in CKD and (2) to evaluate SNPs of ATP2B1 gene as cardiovascular risk predictors in CKD. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Fifty clinically diagnosed CKD patients in the age group between 20 and 60 years of both genders were selected as cases and fifty healthy participants from the master health checkup department were selected as controls. Genomic DNA was extracted based on the spin column kit method. The DNA samples were stored at -20°C until analysis. Genotyping for TCF7L2 gene rs7903146 (C/T) and ATP2B1 gene rs11105354 (A/G) was carried out through polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: T allele frequency was observed in 12 controls and 23 cases (odds ratio [OR] = 2.2, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.0-4.7). CC genotype was observed in 38 controls and 27 cases and CT genotype in 22 cases and 12 controls. A allele was found in 38 cases and 23 controls (OR = 2, 95% CI: 1.1-3.8). The mean values of cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, triglycerides, glucose, insulin, urea, and creatinine were high in cases when compared to controls. CONCLUSION: T allele of TCF7L2 gene rs7903146 (C/T) and A allele of ATP2B1 (A/G) gene rs11105354 (A/G) are associated with CVD in CKD patients.
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Preanalytical steps are the major sources of error in clinical laboratory. The analytical errors can be corrected by quality control procedures but there is a need for stringent quality checks in preanalytical area as these processes are done outside the laboratory. Sigma value depicts the performance of laboratory and its quality measures. Hence in the present study six sigma and Pareto principle was applied to preanalytical quality indicators to evaluate the clinical biochemistry laboratory performance. This observational study was carried out for a period of 1 year from November 2015-2016. A total of 1,44,208 samples and 54,265 test requisition forms were screened for preanalytical errors like missing patient information, sample collection details in forms and hemolysed, lipemic, inappropriate, insufficient samples and total number of errors were calculated and converted into defects per million and sigma scale. Pareto`s chart was drawn using total number of errors and cumulative percentage. In 75% test requisition forms diagnosis was not mentioned and sigma value of 0.9 was obtained and for other errors like sample receiving time, stat and type of sample sigma values were 2.9, 2.6, and 2.8 respectively. For insufficient sample and improper ratio of blood to anticoagulant sigma value was 4.3. Pareto`s chart depicts out of 80% of errors in requisition forms, 20% is contributed by missing information like diagnosis. The development of quality indicators, application of six sigma and Pareto`s principle are quality measures by which not only preanalytical, the total testing process can be improved.
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CONTEXT: Type 2 diabetes mellitus has profound implications on the skeleton. Even though bone mineral density is increased in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients, they are more prone for fractures. The weakening of bone tissue in type 2 diabetes mellitus can be due to uncontrolled blood sugar levels leading to high levels of bone turnover markers in blood. AIMS: The aim of this study is to find the association between glycemic status and bone turnover markers in type 2 diabetes mellitus. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This case-control study was carried out in a tertiary health care hospital. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Fifty clinically diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus patients in the age group between 30 and 50 years were included as cases. Fifty age- and gender-matched healthy nondiabetics were included as controls. Patients with complications and chronic illness were excluded from the study. Depending on glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels, patients were grouped into uncontrolled (HbA1c >7%, n = 36) and controlled (HbA1c <7%, n = 14) diabetics. Based on duration of diabetes, patients were grouped into newly diagnosed, 1-2 years, 3-5 years, and >5 years. Serum osteocalcin (OC), bone alkaline phosphatase (BAP), acid phosphatase (ACP), and HbA1c levels were estimated. OC/BAP and OC/ACP ratio was calculated. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Student's t-test, analysis of variance, and Chi-square tests were used for analysis. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was done for OC/BAP and OC/ACP ratios. RESULTS: Serum OC, HbA1c, and OC/BAP ratio were increased in cases when compared to controls and were statistically significant (P < 0.001). OC/ACP ratio was decreased in type 2 diabetes mellitus and was statistically significant (P = 0.01). In patients with >5-year duration of diabetes, HbA1c level was high and was statistically significant (P < 0.042). BAP levels were high in uncontrolled diabetics but statistically not significant. ROC curve showed OC/BAP ratio better marker than OC/ACP ratio. CONCLUSIONS: Uncontrolled type 2 diabetes mellitus affects bone tissue resulting in variations in bone turnover markers. Bone turnover markers are better in predicting recent changes in bone morphology and are cost effective.
