Principles & Practice of Point-of-Care Testing

Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine,  Apr 2003  by Kratz, Alexander,  Lewandrowski, Kent B

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Principles & Practice of Point-of-Care Testing

Edited by Gerald J. Kost, 672 pp, Philadelphia, Pa, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2002.

An inspection of emergency rooms, physician offices, hospital wards, drugstores, and supermarkets yields impressive evidence of the widespread use of point-of-care testing (POCT) throughout the health care system. Acceptance of near-patient testing in clinical practice is also reflected in the formal recognition of POCT by professional associations and in the scientific literature; the American Association of Clinical Chemistry and the College of American Pathologists have established a division and a committee, respectively, devoted to POCT. In 2002, a scientific journal dedicated to near-patient testing and technology was launched (Point Cf Care: The Journal of Near Patient Testing and Technology). Several pathology journals have devoted reviews and even entire issues to POCT.

The publication of textbooks exclusively addressing POCT is final proof that the field has matured into a recognized subspecialty of laboratory medicine. In 1999, an excellent paperback book entitled Point-of-Care Testing, edited by Christopher Price and Jocelyn Hicks, was published by the American Association of Clinical Chemistry. Gerald Kost, MD, PhD, from the University of California, Davis, has now edited a hardcover book entitled Principles & Practice of Pointof-Care Testing. The title reflects both the scope of this undertaking and the fact that POCT encompasses a defined body of knowledge identifiable as a unique subspecialty.

Gerald Kost has edited the contributions of more than 80 authors into a comprehensive overview of near-- patient testing. The list of authors comprises a virtual who's-who in POCT, which provides a balance of perspectives throughout the text. Dr Kost has succeeded in his 3 goals of explaining the principles of POCT, discussing clinical practice, and describing technological advances. The text includes 40 chapters devoted to the principles of the field, interpretative practice, management, knowledge systems, and economics. These chapters cover the most important aspects of POCT and are complemented by case studies. Some chapters focus on basic overviews (such as goals and guidelines for POCT), whereas others discuss more specialized concepts in depth (such as the use of POC lactate measurements to predict patient outcomes). For readers that require more detail than can be presented in a textbook, more than 3000 references are provided that cover the ever-expanding literature on POCT.

Principles & Practice of Point-of-Care Testing is the most comprehensive overview available on this new and exciting field. The book should prove immensely useful to all health care professionals involved in the performance and supervision of POCT, including laboratory technologists, point-of-care coordinators, nurses, physicians, and medical directors, irrespective of their level of training in laboratory medicine. In short, this book belongs on the must-have book list of any professional interested in POCT. We thank Dr Kost for this excellent contribution.

ALEXANDER KRATZ, MD, PhD

KENT B. LEWANDROWSKI, MD

Boston, Mass

Copyright College of American Pathologists Apr 2003
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