Novel Blood Test Could Cut Hospital Stays for Children with Cancer
|
By LabMedica International staff writers Posted on 21 Mar 2022 |
|
High temperatures are common in children undergoing treatment for cancer due to their lowered immune system. The commonest approach is to keep children in hospital for up to a week while antibiotics are administered in case the fever is a symptom of a serious infection like sepsis. A new blood test could help to safely cut hospital stays for children with cancer who develop a fever, according to a new study.
The study, by researchers from the University of York (York, UK) and Hull York Medical School (York, UK) reveals the blood test can help doctors to distinguish between children whose fever is a sign of serious illness and those who are safe to go home. The results of the study, which involved 28 children with cancer, show that using the blood test in combination with a new protocol to identify children that are safe to go home, cuts their average stay in hospital down to two days, with some able to leave in as little as eight hours. The researchers believe that this change will make an enormous difference to children with cancer and their families, easing mental health and financial burdens. The test diagnoses serious infections by looking at levels of the biomarker procalcitonin in the blood. Those children with low levels often had their antibiotics stopped more quickly and went home earlier.
"Frequent fevers are a distressing and sometimes life-threatening complication of childhood cancer. Our study shows that procalcitonin blood tests could make a big difference to children who don’t have a serious infection, allowing them to go home earlier to be with their families, cutting unnecessary treatment with antibiotics and reducing an already intense mental and physical toll," said Dr. Bob Phillips from the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination at the University of York and Hull York Medical School. "These promising results and the willingness of families to take part in this research mean we can now apply for further funding in order to carry out a large-scale study."
Related Links:
University of York
Hull York Medical School
Latest Hematology News
- New Scoring System Predicts Risk of Developing Cancer from Common Blood Disorder
- Non-Invasive Prenatal Test for Fetal RhD Status Demonstrates 100% Accuracy
- WBC Count Could Predict Severity of COVID-19 Symptoms
- New Platelet Counting Technology to Help Labs Prevent Diagnosis Errors
- Streamlined Approach to Testing for Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia Improves Diagnostic Accuracy
- POC Hemostasis System Could Help Prevent Maternal Deaths
- New Test Assesses Oxygen Delivering Ability of Red Blood Cells by Measuring Their Shape
- Personalized CBC Testing Could Help Diagnose Early-Stage Diseases in Healthy Individuals
- Non-Invasive Test Solution Determines Fetal RhD Status from Maternal Plasma
- First-Of-Its-Kind Smartphone Technology Noninvasively Measures Blood Hemoglobin Levels at POC
- Next Gen CBC and Sepsis Diagnostic System Targets Faster, Earlier, Easier Results
- Newly Discovered Blood Group System to Help Identify and Treat Rare Patients
- Blood Platelet Score Detects Previously Unmeasured Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke
- Automated Benchtop System to Bring Blood Testing To Anyone, Anywhere
- New Hematology Analyzers Deliver Combined ESR and CBC/DIFF Results in 60 Seconds
- Next Generation Instrument Screens for Hemoglobin Disorders in Newborns
Channels
Clinical Chemistry
view channel
Carbon Nanotubes Help Build Highly Accurate Sensors for Continuous Health Monitoring
Current sensors can measure various health indicators, such as blood glucose levels, in the body. However, there is a need to develop more accurate and sensitive sensor materials that can detect lower... Read more
Paper-Based Device Boosts HIV Test Accuracy from Dried Blood Samples
In regions where access to clinics for routine blood tests presents financial and logistical obstacles, HIV patients are increasingly able to collect and send a drop of blood using paper-based devices... Read more
Molecular Diagnostics
view channel
RNA-Based Blood Test Detects Preeclampsia Risk Months Before Symptoms
Preeclampsia remains a major cause of maternal morbidity and mortality, as well as preterm births. Despite current guidelines that aim to identify pregnant women at increased risk of preeclampsia using... Read more
First Of Its Kind Test Uses microRNAs to Predict Toxicity from Cancer Therapy
Many men with early-stage prostate cancer receive stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT), a highly precise form of radiation treatment that is completed in just five sessions. Compared to traditional radiation,... Read more
Novel Cell-Based Assay Provides Sensitive and Specific Autoantibody Detection in Demyelination
Anti-myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG) antibodies serve as markers for an autoimmune demyelinating disorder that affects the peripheral nervous system, leading to sensory impairment. Anti-MAG-IgM antibodies... Read more
Immunology
view channel
Stem Cell Test Predicts Treatment Outcome for Patients with Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer
Epithelial ovarian cancer frequently responds to chemotherapy initially, but eventually, the tumor develops resistance to the therapy, leading to regrowth. This resistance is partially due to the activation... Read more
Machine Learning-Enabled Blood Test Predicts Immunotherapy Response in Lymphoma Patients
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has emerged as one of the most promising recent developments in the treatment of blood cancers. However, over half of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) patients... Read more
Microbiology
view channel
Handheld Device Deliver Low-Cost TB Results in Less Than One Hour
Tuberculosis (TB) remains the deadliest infectious disease globally, affecting an estimated 10 million people annually. In 2021, about 4.2 million TB cases went undiagnosed or unreported, mainly due to... Read more
New AI-Based Method Improves Diagnosis of Drug-Resistant Infections
Drug-resistant infections, particularly those caused by deadly bacteria like tuberculosis and staphylococcus, are rapidly emerging as a global health emergency. These infections are more difficult to treat,... Read more
Breakthrough Diagnostic Technology Identifies Bacterial Infections with Almost 100% Accuracy within Three Hours
Rapid and precise identification of pathogenic microbes in patient samples is essential for the effective treatment of acute infectious diseases, such as sepsis. The fluorescence in situ hybridization... Read more
Pathology
view channel
Advanced Imaging Reveals Mechanisms Causing Autoimmune Disease
Myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune disease, leads to muscle weakness that can affect a range of muscles, including those needed for basic actions like blinking, smiling, or moving. Researchers have long... Read more
AI Model Effectively Predicts Patient Outcomes in Common Lung Cancer Type
Lung adenocarcinoma, the most common form of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), typically adopts one of six distinct growth patterns, often combining multiple patterns within a single tumor.... Read more
Technology
view channel
Pain-On-A-Chip Microfluidic Device Determines Types of Chronic Pain from Blood Samples
Chronic pain is a widespread condition that remains difficult to manage, and existing clinical methods for its treatment rely largely on self-reporting, which can be subjective and especially problematic... Read more
Innovative, Label-Free Ratiometric Fluorosensor Enables More Sensitive Viral RNA Detection
Viruses present a major global health risk, as demonstrated by recent pandemics, making early detection and identification essential for preventing new outbreaks. While traditional detection methods are... Read more
Industry
view channel
Cepheid and Oxford Nanopore Technologies Partner on Advancing Automated Sequencing-Based Solutions
Cepheid (Sunnyvale, CA, USA), a leading molecular diagnostics company, and Oxford Nanopore Technologies (Oxford, UK), the company behind a new generation of sequencing-based molecular analysis technologies,... Read more
Grifols and Tecan’s IBL Collaborate on Advanced Biomarker Panels
Grifols (Barcelona, Spain), one of the world’s leading producers of plasma-derived medicines and innovative diagnostic solutions, is expanding its offer in clinical diagnostics through a strategic partnership... Read more
