The role of tubes with preservative in urinalysis of pregnant women

In order to increase the efficiency of the preanalytical process at the Public Health Laboratory (PHL) where urinalysis is performed on pregnant women admitted at primary care family health centres (FHC), our aim was to demonstrate the efficacy of preservative urine tubes in this study. The first morning urine samples of 84 pregnant women were collected into urine tubes with or without preservative. The first analysis was used as a reference. The tubes with preservative containing chlorhexidine were transported at room temperature and analysed on the 2, 6, 24, and 72 h. Tubes with or without preservative and transported according to cold-chain principles were analysed on the 2nd and 6th h. Changes in comparison to the reference tube were analysed. When the test results of the tubes with preservative and kept at room temperature were compared to those of the reference tubes, the only changes that were observed were in the leukocyte morphology. During microscopic examination of the tubes with or without preservative and transported in accordance with cold-chain principles, no differences were found except pH changes during strip tests and changes in the crystal structure. The tubes with preservative containing chlorhexidine, whose performance was tested with the aim of controlling pre-analytical variables, may be used in conditions in which transportation in accordance with cold-chain principles is impossible. Tubes without preservative were observed to be adequate in conditions in which transportation in accordance with cold-chain principles is possible within 6 h. [Med-Science 2018; 7(3.000): 610-2

Association of serum lipid levels with diabetic retinopathy

AIM: To assess the association between serum lipids and diabetic retinopathy (DR). METHODS: Sixty-one diabetic patients without retinopathy(NDR), 55 diabetic patients with non-proliferative retinopathy(NPDR) and 75 diabetic patients with proliferative retinopathy (PDR) according to ETDRS grading scale were enrolled in this study. Total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL), very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) and triglyceride values were compared between the groups. RESULTS: The groups were well-balanced in terms of age and gender (P=0.071, P=0.265 respectively). The mean HbA1c values were significantly lower in NDR group than the NPDR and PDR groups (P=0.004, P=0.009 respectively). Mean total cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL, HDL and VLDL levels were not significantly different between the groups (P=0.693, P=0.774, P=0.644, P=0.910 and P=0.967 respectively, one way ANOVA). Mean total cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL, HDL and VLDL levels were not significantly different between the patients with ME and patients without ME (P=0.622, P=0.113, P=0.955, P=0.735 and P=0.490 respectively, t-test). The mean blood glucose significantly correlated with total cholesterol (r=0.173, P=0.017) and LDL (r=0.190, P=0.008). The mean HbA1c significantly correlated with total cholesterol (r=0.158, P=0.030) and triglyceride (r=0.148, P=0.042).CONCLUSION: Serum lipid levels were not significantly associated with the severity of DR or existence of ME despite the significant correlation between the mean blood glucose, HbA1c and total cholesterol