Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an important epidemic and public health problem that is associated with a significant risk for vascular disease and early cardiovascular mortality as well as progression of kidney disease. Currently it is classified into five stages based on the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) as recommended by many professional guidelines. Radiolabelled methods for measuring GFR are accurate but not practical and can be used only on a very limited scale while the traditional methods require timed urine collection with its drawback of inaccuracy, cumbersomeness and inconvenience for the patients. However, the development of formula- based calculation of estimated GFR (eGFR) has offered a very practical and easy approach for converting serum creatinine value into GFR result taking into consideration patient's age, sex, ethnicity and weight (depending on equation type). The commonly used equations include Cockraft and Gault (1976), Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) (1999) and Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) (2009). It is the implementation of these equations particularly the MDRD that has raised the medical awareness in the diagnosis and management of CKD and its adoption by many guidelines in North America and Europe. The impact and pitfalls of each of these equations in the screening, diagnosis and management of patients with CKD are presented and discussed in this review.

There is no difference in glucose values collected from plasma NaF tubes or serum SST, and so SST can be used in hospital laboratory settings as there are practical advantages, including cost-effectiveness and reduction in blood volume drawn when utilizing these tubes for glucose and other tests from a single blood collection tube.

Phi outperforms tPSA and fPSA when used alone or in combination, and appears to be more accurate than both markers in excluding prostate cancer before biopsy. Use of this biomarker helps clinicians to avoid unnecessary biopsies, particularly in patients with gray-zone tPSA level. Phi is the strongest marker that correlates proportionally with Gleason Score; therefore, it is also useful in predicting the aggressiveness of the disease. This is the first reported experience for the use of p2PSA and phi in Oman, the Middle East, and North Africa.

No abstract

The availability of highly specific and sensitive serological test and increased awareness for coeliac disease among some medical specialties has increased the number of diagnosed cases of coeliac disease. The requesting for serological test is being made mainly by endocrinologists and gastroenterologists.