UNIT 1 - Intro to Clin Path Flashcards
What is clinical pathology?
Subspecialty of pathology that utilizes laboratory methods for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases.
What is hematology?
Branch of clin path concerned with the diagnosis of disease via evaluation of a blood smear and complete blood count (CBC).
What is hemostasis?
Complex physiologic process that involves cells, platelets, coagulation factors, and coagulation inhibitors working together to balance between hemorrhage (bleeding) and thrombosis (clotting).
T/F: Clin path can always provide a definitive diagnosis
False
What is a reference interval?
Results we could expect to find in healthy animals.
How are RIs determined?
Population-based from healthy animals (>60)
Established using +/- 2 standard deviations from the mean
___% of “healthy” animals have values outside of the RI.
5%
What are 3 reasons why a value would be outside of the RI?
- Disease process
- Biologic variables (age, gender, breed, etc.)
- Errors (preanalytical, analytical, postanalytical)
What are some examples of preanalytical errors?
Patient prep, collection method, inappropriate tube, poor handling, poor storage, labeling error, delayed processing
What are some examples of analytical errors?
Inappropriate method for spp, instrument quality, reagent quality, interfering substances
What are some examples of postanalytical errors?
Transcriptional errors, use of RI from other lab/book/instrument manual
What locations can ensure “clean” venipuncture?
Jugular, cephalic, saphenous veins
What color tube do you use for a CBC and what substance does it contain?
Purple/lavender top
Contains EDTA
What color tube does a coagulation panel use and what does the tube contain?
Blue top tube
Contains citrate
What color tube is used for a chemistry and what does it contain?
Red top tube = No anticoagulant (used for serum)
Green top tube = Heparin (used for plasma)
What is diagnostic sensitivity?
Frequency in which a test is (+) in patients that have the disease of interest.
What are characteristics of a test with good diagnostic sensitivity?
- Has few false negatives
- Good “screening” test
- If animal has the disease, there is a good chance the test will detect it
What is diagnostic specificity?
Frequency in which a test is (-) in patients that do not have the disease of interest.
What are characteristics of a test with good diagnostic specificity?
- Few false positives
- Good confirmatory test
- Positive indicates that there is a high probability that the animal has the disease
