title: Evaluation of a mobile clinical pathology laboratory developed for the home care of pediatric patients following transplantation of peripheral blood precursor cells.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A mobile clinical pathology laboratory (MoLab) was designed, outfitted and evaluated to improve the turnaround time (TAT) of laboratory tests performed in patients who receive follow-up care at home.
  
  
  METHODS
  Full blood counts (FBCs), basic clinical biochemistry tests on blood and urine, and basic coagulation and blood gases were measured using bench-top laboratory analyzers to perform point-of-care tests in a mobile setting. The quality of the results was evaluated on the instruments both while the vehicle was at rest and following movement during the course of routine activity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The equivalence of the values produced by the point-of-care testing (POCT) and central laboratory (CL) measurement procedures was demonstrated and remained stable after movement in city traffic. The TATs ranged from a few minutes for FBCs to <20 min for extended clinical biochemistry tests.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  During the first 6 months of activity, the MoLab assured the provision of laboratory results for home care patients in a matter of minutes. This approach not only allowed for real-time modifications in therapy but also reduced the number of second visits by the home care medical team. Point-of-care tests performed on the MoLab were significantly more expensive than the same tests performed in the CL. However, the savings in patient hospitalization expenses and the reduced costs resulting from fewer second daily visits completely offset the costs of using the MoLab during the first 6-month pilot phase.
authors: Laboratorio Centrale di Analisi, Dipartimento di Ricerca Traslazionale e Medicina di Laboratorio, Istituto Giannina G. Gaslini, Genova, Italy.
authors: Fabio
authors: F
authors: Facco
authors: Alessia
authors: A
authors: Agazzi
authors: Luca
authors: L
authors: Manfredini
authors: Sandro
authors: S
authors: Dallorso
authors: Giovanni
authors: G
authors: Melioli
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques / Q000191:economics / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000592:standards*; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000191:economics / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000592:standards*; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D011786:Quality Control; D013997:Time Factors