[Organization of the laboratory and practicability of methods for electrolyte determination]

Requirements, possibilities, and pitfalls of electrolyte (sodium, potassium, and chloride) analysis are reviewed within the light of the experiences in the Academic Hospital St. Radboud, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. In view of the ever increasing demands on short turnaround times, attention is paid to problems with specimen delivery, instrumentation and data distribution. The precision levels of available alternatives for electrolyte analysis namely: flame photometry, direct and indirect ion selective electrode methods, dry chemistry, and the newly developed enzymatic approach for sodium and potassium analysis are discussed.