Immediate Point-of-Care Testing of Breastmilk Sodium and Potassium Concentrations in Women with Mastitis †
by
, , and
Emma L. Heron
1,2,*, 
Ching Tat Lai
1,3,4,
Leanda J. McKenna
2,
Adelle M. McArdle
5 and
Donna T. Geddes
1,3,4 1
School of Molecular Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
2
School of Allied Health, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia
3
ABREAST Network, Perth, WA 6000, Australia
4
UWA Centre for Human Lactation Research and Translation, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
5
Monash Rural Health, Monash University, Churchill, VIC 3842, Australia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
Presented at the Australian Breastfeeding + Lactation Research and Science Translation Conference (ABREAST Conference 2023), Perth, Australia, 10 November 2023.
Proceedings 2023, 93(1), 1; https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2023093001
Published: 19 December 2023
(This article belongs to the Proceedings of Australian Breastfeeding + Lactation Research and Science Translation Conference 2023)
Abstract
:Sodium (Na) and potassium (K) concentrations in breastmilk are often used as biomarkers to define mastitis in lactating women and can be measured with small portable point-of-care ion-selective electrodes (ISEs). The aim of this study was to test the ISEs at the point of care for accuracy and acceptability in women with mastitis. Up to 5 mL of expressed breastmilk from the affected breast of 43 women with mastitis was collected at three timepoints (day 1, 3, and 10). Immediate Na and K ISE testing was later compared to the laboratory measure of inductively coupled plasma–op-tical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The results revealed a statistically significant difference in Na and K concentrations between the point-of-care and laboratory testing (both p = 0.001, Wilcoxon signed-rank test); however, the difference was not statistically significant when compared for Na:K ratio (p = 0.49, Wilcoxon signed-rank test). The Bland–Altman limits of agreement were acceptable, with the majority of measurements lying within two standard deviations of the mean (Na: 94%; K: 95%; and Na:K: 96%). The testing techniques were significantly correlated for Na (R2 = 0.79, p = 0.001) and Na:K (R2 = 0.99, p = 0.001). Overall, participants rated the ISE point-of-care testing as very acceptable. In conclusion, immediate ISE point-of-care testing for breastmilk Na:K ratio in women with mastitis is clinically accurate and acceptable.
Author Contributions
Conceptualization, E.L.H., L.J.M., A.M.M. and D.T.G.; methodology, E.L.H., C.T.L., L.J.M. and D.T.G.; validation, E.L.H. and C.T.L.; formal analysis, E.L.H. and C.T.L.; investigation, E.L.H.; resources, C.T.L. and D.T.G.; data curation, E.L.H. and C.T.L.; writing—original draft preparation, E.L.H. and C.T.L.; writing—review and editing, E.L.H., C.T.L., L.J.M., A.M.M. and D.T.G.; supervision, C.T.L., L.J.M., A.M.M. and D.T.G.; funding acquisition, E.L.H. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding
This research was funded by Mercy Health Small Grants 2021/2022 and 2022/2023. Author and Ph.D. candidate, E.H., received an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship (https://www.dese.gov.au/research-block-grants/research-training-program). The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.
Institutional Review Board Statement
The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Mercy Health Human Research Ethics Committee (2021-007, 6 May 2021).
Informed Consent Statement
Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.
Data Availability Statement
Data sharing not applicable.
Acknowledgments
Medela AG (Switzerland) is acknowledged for their kind loan of a hospital-grade breast pump; Angela Jacques for her statistical analysis assistance; and Xiaojie Zhou and Oscar Del Borrello for their technical support.
Conflicts of Interest
D.T.G. declares participation in the Scientific Advisory Board of Medela AG. C.T.L. and D.TG. receive a salary from an unrestricted research grant from Medela AG, administered by The University of Western Australia. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results. All other authors declare no conflict of interest.
Disclaimer/Publisher’s Note: The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content. |
© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Share and Cite
MDPI and ACS Style
Heron, E.L.; Lai, C.T.; McKenna, L.J.; McArdle, A.M.; Geddes, D.T. Immediate Point-of-Care Testing of Breastmilk Sodium and Potassium Concentrations in Women with Mastitis. Proceedings 2023, 93, 1. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2023093001
AMA Style
Heron EL, Lai CT, McKenna LJ, McArdle AM, Geddes DT. Immediate Point-of-Care Testing of Breastmilk Sodium and Potassium Concentrations in Women with Mastitis. Proceedings. 2023; 93(1):1. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2023093001
Chicago/Turabian StyleHeron, Emma L., Ching Tat Lai, Leanda J. McKenna, Adelle M. McArdle, and Donna T. Geddes. 2023. "Immediate Point-of-Care Testing of Breastmilk Sodium and Potassium Concentrations in Women with Mastitis" Proceedings 93, no. 1: 1. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2023093001
