Clinical application of point-of-care testing in plateau region of China

In plateau region of China, acute mountain sickness, high altitude pulmonary edema and high altitude cerebral edema are common diseases with high mortality among acute high-altitude diseases.Due to the special low oxygen environment and relatively backward medical technologies, patients without timely diagnosis would miss the optimal treatment timing.Point-of-care testing (POCT) could meet these requirements because of its portability and operability, and is suitable for popularization and application in medical institutions located in plateau region.In order to give full play to the role of POCT in medical, emergency and preventive health care in highland areas, a management system including instrument maintenance, personnel training, and quality control should be established according to the special geographical environment and medical resources, to make the equipment work perfectly and accurately.（Chin J Lab Med，2014,37：812-814） Key words: Altitude; Point-of-care systems; Altitude sickness