title: [Point-of-care testing in preclinical emergency medicine].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Measurement of biological signals directly at the patient (point-of-care testing, POCT) is an established standard in emergency medicine when test results are needed quickly and within a reliable time frame or if external testing requires a disproportionate effort.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Currently, the rapid test for β-HCG in urine and POCT measurement of lactate, blood gases, cardiac tropinin, haemoglobin, and hematocrit are well established in emergency medicine. POCT of copeptin, fatty acid-binding proteins (FABP), procalcitonin, coagulation values, natriuretic peptides, D-dimer, and toxicological substances are of future interest. In this article, the appropriate use of point-of-care testing in prehospital emergency medicine is discussed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Application of POCT is dependent of the underlying conditions, the availability of appropriate devices, and of suitable reference methods in a central laboratory. In addition, economical and quality aspects play an important role.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In emergency departments, POCT is currently developing into a standard measuring method for a number of markers because hospital laboratories are increasingly being merged and consequently reduce their emergency-analytic services. In countries with a high density of hospitals, however, preclinical POCT should be reduced to the minimum necessary.
authors.affiliation: Arbeitsbereich Notfallmedizin/Rettungsstellen/CPU, Campus Virchow Klinikum und Campus Mitte, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353, Berlin, Deutschland, martin.moeckel@charite.de.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Möckel
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Searle
mesh_terms: D001317:Austria; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood* / Q000652:urine*; D001774:Blood Chemical Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D018997:Chorionic Gonadotropin, beta Subunit, Human / Q000652:urine*; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D018997:Chorionic Gonadotropin, beta Subunit, Human