University of Iowa
Department of Family Medicine

FPInfo: Resources to support patient care
Laboratory-based Medical Practice

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Laboratory-based Medical Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1

Clinical use of laboratory studies

Expressing laboratory results

Variability in laboratory results

Laboratory Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1

Diagnostic and Prognostic Classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1

Diagnostic study performance

Selecting diagnostic or prognostic studies

Evaluating Classification Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1

Evaluating test performance

Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1

Laboratory screening and monitoring of physiologic status, disease activity, therapeutic response

Biologic Variability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1

Sources of biologic variability

Organ Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1

Nutritional Status. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1

Tissue Injury. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-1

Markers of cellular damage, Immunologic injury, Infection

Genetic Disease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-1

Cancer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-1

Drug Therapy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12-1

The laboratory in drug therapy

Appendix: Specimen collection procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-1

Blood, arterial: radial artery

Blood venous: antecubital vein

Bone marrow: posterior iliac crest aspiration and biopsy

Cerebrospinal fluid: lumbar subarachnoid space

Peritoneal fluid

Pleural fluid

Urine: timed collection

Urine: random collection