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Point-of-care creatinine testing in children at risk for sudden deterioration of renal function

Paul W Schenk1, Karlien Cransberg, Eric D Wolff

  • 1Department of Clinical Chemistry, Erasmus MC-Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine
|October 11, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Point-of-care creatinine testing in children using Reflotron and i-STAT devices shows good correlation with standard assays. The i-STAT system is recommended for home monitoring due to its ease of use.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Nephrology
  • Clinical Chemistry
  • Biomedical Engineering

Background:

  • Point-of-care testing (POCT) for creatinine offers potential for early detection of renal function decline in pediatric patients.
  • Home-based monitoring of creatinine levels is crucial for managing recurrent conditions affecting kidney health in children.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the performance of two point-of-care creatinine testing systems, Reflotron and i-STAT, against a standard automated assay.
  • To assess the suitability of these POCT systems for clinical use, particularly in pediatric settings.

Main Methods:

  • A comparative study involving 20 pediatric patients (2 months to 17 years).
  • Capillary blood samples were analyzed using Reflotron, i-STAT, and a Hitachi 912 automated creatinine assay.
  • Statistical analysis included mean difference and Passing-Bablok regression for method comparison.

Main Results:

  • Both Reflotron and i-STAT demonstrated good correlation with the Hitachi 912 assay.
  • Mean differences were -16 micromol/L for Reflotron and 4 micromol/L for i-STAT compared to the reference method.
  • Passing-Bablok slopes indicated strong agreement, with values of 0.95 and 0.96, respectively.

Conclusions:

  • Reflotron and i-STAT are reliable point-of-care systems for measuring blood creatinine concentrations in capillary samples.
  • Both devices perform well, especially within the creatinine concentration range up to 500 micromol/L.
  • The i-STAT system is identified as a preferable choice for home-based monitoring due to its user-friendliness.
Abstract

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