Main description:

This practical, easy-to-use guide, named to Doody's Core Titles 2013, addresses interference issues in all laboratory tests, including patient epigenetics, process of specimen collection, enzymes, biomarkers. Clinicians and laboratory scientists can therefore rely on one reference which speaks to both their needs of accurate specimen analysis and optimal patient care.

Erroneous hospital and pathology laboratory results can be confusing and problematic, especially in acute care situations. While some factors creating interference, can be identified in the laboratory, detecting many others is often dependent on clinical details unavailable to the laboratory scientists or pathologists. Therefore, clinicians must become proficient in identifying such erroneous reports, and working with pathologists and laboratory scientists so that they can understand the source of such interferences, correct the results, and then decide what course of action must be followed for proper patient management.

Contents:

Chapter 1. Variation, Errors, and Quality in the Clinical Laboratory

Chapter 2. Effect of Age, Gender, Diet, Exercise and Ethnicity on Laboratory Test Results

Chapter 3. Effect of patient preparation, specimen collection, anticoagulants and preservatives on laboratory tests

Chapter 4. Sample processing and specimen misidentification issues

Chapter 5. Hemolysis, lipemia and high bilirubin: effect on laboratory tests

Chapter 6. Immunoassay design and mechanism of interferences

Chapter 7. Effect of herbal remedies on clinical laboratory tests

Chapter 8. Challenges in routine clinical chemistry: analysis of small molecules

Chapter 9. Challenges in routine clinical chemistry: proteins and enzymes

Chapter 10. Sources of inaccuracy in biochemical genetics analysis

Chapter 11. Challenges in endocrinology testing

Chapter 12. Pitfalls in tumor marker testing

Chapter 13. Issues of interferences in therapeutic drug monitoring

Chapter 14. Limitations of drugs of abuse testing

Chapter 15. Challenges in confirmation testing for drugs of abuse

Chapter 16. Alcohol determination using automated analyzers: limitations and pitfalls

Chapter 17. Pre-analytical issues and interferences in transfusion medicine tests

Chapter 18. Critical issues in immunology and serology testing

Chapter 19. Sources of errors in hematology and coagulation testing

Chapter 20. Challenges in Clinical Microbiology Testing

Chapter 21. Sources of errors in molecular testing

Chapter 22. Problems in Pharmacogenomics Testing