Early detection of illness can save lives. However, healthcare professionals continue to encounter difficulties in capturing the early markers of infection and inflammation before symptoms become severe. Traditional inflammatory markers such as ESR and CRP often fall short in providing reliable, consistent insights into different disease conditions. Clinicians need a test that is accurate, reproducible, and capable of reflecting the true picture of what is happening inside the body.
Failure to detect diseases in a timely manner results in delayed interventions, poor clinical outcome, and increased strain on healthcare systems. Research indicates that conventional testing methods can be unreliable, influenced by external factors, or inadequate in assessing the severity of diseases. Consequently, this leaves clinicians without the timely insight needed to diagnose, choose appropriate treatment and allocate resources effectively.
Plasma Viscosity (PV) is renowned as a quick, non-specific test, which is accurate, reliable, repeatable, very useful for screening, diagnosing and highly suitable for condition monitoring. Since the introduction of efficient measurement of plasma viscosity (Harkness, 1971), PV testing has been available in many haematology laboratories. The viscosity of plasma is determined by the concentration and size of proteins in the blood, which increases as part of the body’s normal response to infection, inflammation, and due to the effects of traumatic injury.
Based on many scientific studies, the plasma viscosity test is a robust and reliable tool that provides valuable insight into a patient's health. Plasma viscosity is widely used by scientists and clinicians in diagnosing and monitoring a host of complex clinical conditions linked to infection, inflammation, autoimmune disorders, haematological cancers, and cardiovascular diseases.
There are several studies that demonstrate the significance of plasma viscosity testing in the early detection of diseases and its severity. Most notably, at Addenbrooke’s hospital, clinical research was conducted by Gleghorn et al., (2021) to demonstrate the diagnostic potential of PV testing for individuals suspected of having COVID-19. The study revealed a notably high predictive value for differentiating between high-risk and low-risk patients when utilising PV as the ‘primary marker’.
The research indicates that the PV test is a highly sensitive tool that can help identify the severity of COVID-19 in patients. An increase in PV levels correlates with the need for inpatient admission and potentially intensive care, serving as an early indicator for specialist intervention. This allows for better resource allocation by distinguishing high-risk patients from those exhibiting milder symptoms. The PV test stands out as a simple yet effective method to accurately evaluating disease burden, something not achieved by other similar laboratory tests to date.
The healthcare sector is transitioning towards a focus on prevention, early diagnosis and proactive management of diseases. Clinicians demand tools that enable faster, more reliable diagnosis and treatment monitoring. Plasma viscosity testing is set to play a vital role and is a true reflection of ‘in-vivo’ conditions. By enabling earlier intervention, PV testing not only improves individual patient outcomes but also reduces pressure on healthcare systems worldwide. At Benson Viscometers, we are proud to be advancing this transformation — equipping healthcare providers with technology that makes early detection a reality.
W: https://bensonviscometers.com