Intro & Request for Lab investigations

Question 1

what is chempath ?

Answer 1

A SCIENCE ;
- concerned with the use of biochemical & molecular biological methods in the diagnosis of disease
- concerned with developing & carrying out clinical analyses of body fluids & other biological materials for the diagnosis, therapy & research of diseases

Question 2

_ is the major aspect of lab medicine & lab physicians

Answer 2

Clinical Laboratory Science

Question 3

functions of a lab investigation

Answer 3

1) screen for metabolic diseases
2) help make a diagnosis
3) monitor treatment
4) detect complications
5) medicolegal reasons

Question 4

Types of Tests

Answer 4

1) Static Test - occurs with patient in resting state as they present clinically. Used to detect gross changes in organ function.

2) Dynamic Test - put the organ function under stress. Detects subtle abnormalities. May involve the use of a suppressant/stimulant

Question 5

what is stimulating dynamic functions test

Answer 5

involves extreme load of a normal metabolite to test the ability of the organ to cope with the excess load

Question 6

oral glucose tolerance test measures _ function

Answer 6

endocrine pancreatic

Question 7

suppression tests with examples

Answer 7

1) usually hormonal
2) test integrity of feedback & response of the target organ

eg Dexamethasone suppression, saline suppression, fludrocortisone suppression

Question 8

_ is diagnosis of Cushing’s syndrome

Answer 8

Dexamethasone suppression test

Question 9

_ & _ test is diagnostic of primary aldosteronism

Answer 9

Saline suppression test & fludrocortisone suppression test

Question 10

What is Emergency Lab ?

Answer 10

when an urgent test is done in which the clinician is likely to take immediate action

Question 11

Biochemical Measurements vary for two reasons

Answer 11

1) Analytical variation
2) Biological variation

Question 12

Analytical variation as affected by factors such as ;

Answer 12

1) precision & accuracy
2) sensitivity & specificity
3) quality assurance
4) reference ranges

Question 13

reproducibility of an analytical record is

Answer 13

precision

Question 14

Accuracy

Answer 14

how close the measured value is to the actual value

Question 15

Sensitivity

Answer 15

how little of the analyte the method can detect

Question 16

Specificity

Answer 16

how good the assay is in discriminating btwn analyte of interest and potentially interfering substances

Question 17

What is Quality Assurance

Answer 17

Laboratory staff monitor performance of assay using quality control samples to give reassurance that the method is performing satisfactorily with patients’ specimen

Question 18

Action limit

Answer 18

where appropriate intervention should be made in response to a biochemical result

Question 19

Action limit

Answer 19

where appropriate intervention should be made in response to a biochemical result

Question 20

Non-biological factors to consider in the interpretation of lab results

Answer 20

1) Between-individual differences such as Age, Sex, Ethnic differences

2) Within-individual differences such as circadian or diurnal rhythms, stress and anxiety, time of meal, season, posture, exercise, infection, medical history, pregnancy, menstrual history, drug hx, et

Question 21

information about __ , ___ & ___ are needed for a good application of lab results

Answer 21

1) assay performance
2) biological variation
3) clinical judgment