Background: Point of care (POC) testing for fetal scalp blood lactate is a more user friendly and more successful approach compared to scalp pH for intrapartum fetal monitoring. The aim of this study was to assess the analytical specificity and clinical reliability of three POC lactate methods. Methods: The analytical performance of three POC lactate methods was compared to Cobas 6000 (Roche Diagnostics) laboratory reference method: Lactate Pro from Arkray, GEM 4000 from Instrumentation Laboratory and StatStrip Lactate from Nova Biomedical. The clinical performance and influences on accuracy and decision making criteria for the three POC methods was assessed with umbilical cord samples and compared to the laboratory reference method. The influence of varying ranges of hemoglobin, pH and partial oxygen pressure (pO₂) on the accuracy of results was assessed. Results: Although all three POC methods showed good correlation with the reference method for the umbilical cord sample population (r=0.989, 0.973 and 0.980, respectively), Lactate Pro and Gem 4000 showed a significant negative bias compared to the reference method. The degree of bias meant a significant readjustment of decision making criteria was required for fetal lactate use. The accuracy of the Lactate Pro results was affected by hemoglobin and to a lesser extent pH. Conclusions: The three electrochemical POC devices can measure fetal lactate reliably. StatStrip Lactate showed a closer correlation and concordance to our laboratory reference method. The results of this study indicate the requirement for predetermining the reliability of POC lactate methods before use present in fetal and perinatal settings.

Background: The benefits of parathyroidectomy on cardiovascular risk in primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) are controversial. This monocentric, observational, prospective study aimed to assess the effects of parathyroidectomy on glucose and lipid metabolism in classic or mild PHPT. Methods: Patients who underwent parathyroidectomy for classic (calcemia >2.85 mmol/L) or mild PHPT (calcemia ≤2.85 mmol/L) between 2016 and 2019 were included. A metabolic assessment was performed before and 1 year after parathyroidectomy. Patients with a history of diabetes were excluded. Results: Nineteen patients had classic and 120 had mild PHPT. Ninety-five percent were normocalcemic 6 months after surgery. Fasting plasma glucose and insulin levels decreased after parathyroidectomy in patients with mild PHPT (p < 0.001). HOMA-IR decreased after surgery in the overall population (p < 0.001), while plasma adiponectin concentrations increased in patients with both classic (p = 0.005) and mild PHPT (p < 0.001). Plasma triglyceride levels decreased significantly only in patients with classic PHPT (p = 0.021). Plasma PCSK9 levels decreased in patients with mild PHPT (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Parathyroidectomy for PHPT improves insulin resistance and decreases plasma triglyceride levels in classic PHPT and plasma PCSK9 levels in mild PHPT. Further studies are needed to better characterize the consequences of such metabolic risk factors’ improvements on cardiovascular events.

Background: Analysis of serum biomarkers for the assessment of atrophic gastritis (AG), a gastric precancerous lesion, is of growing interest for identification of patients at increased risk of gastric cancer. The aim was to analyze the diagnostic performance of serum pepsinogen testing using another method, chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay (CLEIA), as well as of other new potential biomarkers. Material and Methods: The sera of patients considered at increased risk of gastric cancer and undergoing upper endoscopy collected in our previous prospective, multicenter study were tested for pepsinogen I (PGI) and II (PGII), interleukin-6 (IL-6), human epididymal protein 4 (HE-4), adiponectin, ferritin and Krebs von den Lungen (KL-6) using the CLEIA. The diagnostic performance for the detection of AG was calculated by taking histology as the reference. Results: In total, 356 patients (162 men (46%); mean age 58.6 (±14.2) years), including 152 with AG, were included. For the detection of moderate to severe corpus AG, sensitivity and specificity of the pepsinogen I/II ratio were of 75.0% (95%CI 57.8–87.9) and 92.6% (88.2–95.8), respectively. For the detection of moderate to severe antrum AG, sensitivity of IL-6 was of 72.2% (95%CI 46.5–90.3). Combination of pepsinogen I/II ratio or HE-4 showed a sensitivity of 85.2% (95%CI 72.9–93.4) for the detection of moderate to severe AG at any location. Conclusion: This study shows that PG testing by CLEIA represents an accurate assay for the detection of corpus AG. Additionally, IL-6 and HE-4 may be of interest for the detection of antrum AG. Mini- Pepsinogens testing by chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay is accurate for the detection of corpus atrophic gastritis. IL-6 and HE-4 maybe of interest for the detection of antrum atrophic gastritis.

For the detection of cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury (CS-AKI), the performance of urine tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 2 insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 7 (TIMP2 IGFBP7) has never been compared with that of very early changes in plasma creatinine (∆pCr). We hypothesized that, in the context of perioperative haemodilution, lack of postoperative decrease in pCr would be of honourable performance for the detection of CS-AKI. We therefore aimed at comparing these biomarkers and their kinetics (primary objective). As secondary objectives, we assessed plasma neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (pNGAL), cystatin C (pCysC) and urea (pUrea). We also determined the ability of these biomarkers to early discriminate persistent from transient CS-AKI. Patients over 75 years-old undergoing aortic valve replacement with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) were included in this prospective observational study. Biomarkers were measured before/after CPB and at the sixth postoperative hour (H6). In 65 patients, CS-AKI occurred in 27 (42%). ∆pCr from post-CPB to H6 (∆pCr_postCPB-H6): outperformed TIMP2 IGFBP7 at H6 and its intra- or postoperative changes: area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC_ROC) of 0.84 [95%CI:0.73–0.92] vs. ≤0.67 [95%CI:0.54–0.78], p ≤ 0.03. The AUC_ROC of pNGAL, pCysC and pUrea did not exceed 0.72 [95%CI:0.59–0.83]. Indexing biomarkers levels for blood or urine dilution did not improve their performance. Combining TIMP2 IGFBP7 and ∆pCr_postCPB-H6 was of no evident added value over considering ∆pCr_postCPB-H6 alone. For the early recognition of persistent CS-AKI, no biomarker outperformed ∆pCr_postCPB-H6 (AUC_ROC = 0.69 [95%CI:0.48–0.85]). In this hypothesis-generating study mostly testing early detection of mild CS-AKI, there was no evident added value of the tested modern biomarkers over early minimal postoperative changes in pCr: despite the common perioperative hemodilution in the setting of cardiac surgery, if pCr failed to decline within the 6 h after CPB, the development of CS-AKI was likely. Confirmatory studies with more severe forms of CS-AKI are required.

Blood glucose is one of the most frequently measured laboratory parameters. This study, conducted by the SFBC and CNBH, aimed to assess current practices and identify areas for improvement. An 82-question online questionnaire covering the pre-analytical, analytical, and post-analytical phases of blood glucose measurement was distributed at the end of 2025 to members of the SFBC (French Society of Clinical Biology) and the CNBH (National College of Hospital Biochemistry). Seventy-two laboratories completed the questionnaire: 57 in metropolitan France, 4 in the French overseas departments and territories (DROM-COM), and 11 in other French-speaking countries. Respondents were mostly hospitals (n = 35) and university hospitals (n = 29). Blood glucose testing is available 24/7 in 95.8% of laboratories. The pre-analytical phase is heterogeneous, particularly regarding the recommended fasting duration for fasting blood glucose measurement and the time elapsed after a meal for postprandial blood glucose measurement. Tubes containing sodium fluoride with potassium oxalate are predominantly used, and no laboratory uses citrate-sodium fluoride-EDTA tubes. The time before centrifugation is less than 30 minutes for fewer than 10 % of laboratories. Regarding the analytical phase, the hexokinase method predominates (86.7%), and very satisfactory analytical performance is observed. For the post-analytical phase, a lack of standardization is noted, particularly concerning reference values range and units of measurement. This survey highlights substantial variability in glucose testing practices, particularly in the pre-analytical phase. Harmonization of procedures is needed to improve result reliability, comparability, and patient safety.