Point-of-Care Testing

Published on 09/02/2015 by admin

Filed under Allergy and Immunology

Last modified 22/04/2025

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Point-of-Care Testing

Point-of-care testing (POCT) is defined as laboratory assays performed near the patient. The development of new POCT assays has been increasing at a rapid rate. POCT testing can include home test kits and handheld monitors. The major advantage is the rapidity of obtaining quality results if the procedure is performed by an appropriately patient or health care provider. The major drawback is cost, particularly if a large volume of testing is done. Other areas of concern include maintenance of quality control (QC) and quality assurance (QA).

Testing Categories

Diagnostic testing that is not performed within a traditional laboratory is called waived testing by The Joint Commission (TJC, formerly known as the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations [JCAHO]). The Clinical Laboratory Improvement Acts of 1988 (CLIA ’88) subjects all clinical laboratory testing to federal regulation and inspection. According to CLIA ’88, test procedures are grouped into one of four following categories:

Test complexity is determined by criteria that assess knowledge, training, reagent and material preparation, operational technique, QC-QA characteristics, maintenance and troubleshooting, and interpretation and judgment. Any over-the-counter test approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is automatically placed into the “waived” category. POCT falls within the “waived” or “moderately complex” category.

Quality Control Standards

All laboratory testing must meet the same quality standards regardless of where it is performed. State and city governments may enact mandatory regulations, including qualifications of personnel performing the test, which may be more (but not less) stringent than federal regulations. Voluntary participation in QA programs is also available.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC; www.cdc.gov) has invited providers to participate in a new performance evaluation program (HIV Rapid Testing MPEP) that offers the external evaluation of rapid tests for human immunodeficiency virus (e.g., OraQuick Rapid HIV-1 Antibody Test) and other licensed tests (e.g., MedMira Reveal Rapid HIV-1 Test).

Ultimate responsibility and control of POCT reside within the CLIA-certified laboratory and require a minimum of one laboratory staff member to be responsible for each POCT program. Written policies and procedures must be available to all laboratory personnel for patient preparation, specimen collection and preservation, instrument calibration, policies for QC and remedial actions, equipment performance evaluations, procedures for test performance, result report, and recording. The greatest source of error is preanalytic error, such as patient identification and specimen collection.

Non–Instrument-Based Testing

In immunology and serology testing, most POCT testing is done by manual rapid test methods, such as pregnancy testing. More rapid tests are being developed for the identification of infectious organisms, such as group A streptococci and HIV, in emergency rooms, in hospital settings, and even at home. Numerous POCT tests are referenced throughout this book in various chapters. The card pregnancy test is presented as an example in this chapter.

image Card Pregnancy Test

Principle

The OSOM Card Pregnancy Test (Fig. 9-1) is a solid-phase, sandwich-format, immunochromatographic assay for the qualitative detection of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG).

Urine is added to the sample well and the sample migrates through reaction pads, where hCG, if present in the sample, binds to a monoclonal anti-hCG dye conjugate. The sample then migrates across a membrane toward the “results window,” where the labeled hCG complex is captured at a test line region containing immobilized rabbit anti-hCG. Excess conjugate will flow past the test line region and will be captured at a control line region containing an immobilized antibody directed against the anti-hCG dye conjugate (with or without hCG complexed to it).

The appearance of two black bands in the results window, one at T (test) and the other at C (control), indicates the presence of hCG in the sample. If a detectable level of hCG is not present, only the control band will appear in the results window.

See image website for the procedural protocol.

Reporting Results

Positive

Two separate black or gray bands, one at T and the other at C, are visible in the results window, indicating that the specimen contains detectable levels of hCG. Although the intensity of the test band may vary with different specimens, the appearance of two distinct bands should be interpreted as a positive result.

Limitations

• This assay is capable of detecting only whole-molecule (intact) hCG. It cannot detect the presence of free hCG subunits. Therefore, this test should only be used for the qualitative detection of hCG in urine for the early determination of pregnancy.

• For diagnostic purposes, hCG test results should always be used with other methods and in the context of the patient’s clinical information (e.g., medical history, symptoms, results of other tests, clinical impression). An ectopic pregnancy cannot be distinguished from normal pregnancy by hCG measurements alone.

• If the hCG level is inconsistent with or unsupported by clinical evidence, results should also be confirmed by an alternative hCG method. Test results should be confirmed using a quantitative hCG assay before any critical medical procedure.

• Interfering substances may falsely depress or falsely elevate results. These interfering substances may cause false results over the entire range of the assay, not only at low levels, and may indicate the presence of hCG when there is none. As with any immunochemical reaction, unknown interferences from medications or endogenous substances may affect results.

• Infrequently, hCG levels may appear consistently elevated and could be caused by, but are not limited to, the following:

• Because of the high degree of sensitivity of the assay, specimens tested as positive during the initial days after conception may later be negative because of natural termination of the pregnancy.

• Overall, natural termination occurs in 22% of clinically unrecognized pregnancies and 31% of other pregnancies. In the presence of weakly positive results, it is good laboratory practice to sample and test again after 48 hours.

• If the test band appears very faint, it is recommended that a new sample be collected 48 hours later and tested again using another OSOM Card Pregnancy Test device.

• Dilute urine specimens may not have representative levels of hCG.

• Detection of very low levels of hCG does not rule out pregnancy; low levels of hCG can occur in apparently healthy nonpregnant subjects. Additionally, postmenopausal specimens may elicit weak positive results because of low hCG levels unrelated to pregnancy. In a normal pregnancy, hCG values double approximately every 48 hours. Patients with very low levels of hCG should be sampled and tested again after 48 hours, or tested with an alternative method.

• Some antipsychotic drugs are known to cause false-positive results in pregnancy tests.

Cross-Reactivity

The addition of luteinizing hormone (300 mIU/mL of LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH; 1000 mIU/mL of FSH), or thyroid-stimulating hormone (1000 µIU/mL of TSH) to negative urine serum specimens gives negative results in the OSOM Card Pregnancy Test.

The following substances were added to urine specimens containing 0 or 20 mIU/mL hCG. The substances at the concentrations listed below were not found to affect the performance of the test.

Interfering Substance Concentration
Acetaminophen 20 mg/dL
Acetoacetic acid 2000 mg/dL
Acetylsalicylic acid 20 mg/dL
Amitriptyline 100 mg/dL
Amphetamines 10 µg/mL
Ascorbic acid 20 mg/dL
Atropine 20 mg/dL
Benzoylecgonine 10 mg/dL
Bilirubin 2 mg/dL
Caffeine 20 mg/dL
Cannabinol 10 mg/dL
Chlorpromazine 5 mg/dL
Codeine 10 mg/dL
Desipramine 20 mg/dL
Diazepam 2 mg/dL
Ephedrine 20 mg/dL
Estradiol 25 ng/mL
Estriol 1 mg/dL
Ethanol 200 mg/dL
Gentisic acid 20 mg/dL
Glucose 2000 mg/dL
Hemoglobin 250 mg/dL
Human albumin 2000 mg/dL
β-Hydroxybutyrate 2000 mg/dL
Ibuprofen 40 mg/dL
Imipramine 100 mg/dL
Lithium 3.5 mg/dL
Methadone 10 mg/dL
Mesoridazine 1 mg/dL
Morphine 6 µg/mL
Nortriptyline 100 mg/dL
Phenobarbital 15 mg/dL
Phenylpropanolamine 20 mg/dL
Pregnanediol 1500 µg/dL
Progesterone 40 ng/mL
Proteins 2000 mg/dL
Salicylic acid 20 mg/dL
Tetracycline 20 mg/dL
Thioridazine 2 mg/dL

Adapted from OSOM Card Pregnancy Test, Philadelphia, 2007, Genzyme Diagnostics.