Understanding Laboratory Investigations

Reviews of previous editions: "This is a really useful book for midwives. I expected it to be a textbook which I could recommend to studentsand indeed that is true. However, when I picked this up I realised how useful it can be qualified staff, no matter how familiar the topics may be to those in practice ... . I would recommend this for any team or ward reference library." (Practising Midwife, January 2009) "If you have not come across this book before then I would certainly recommend this new improved edition." (Heather Jarman in Accident and Emergency Nursing, Volume 15, 2007)

Chris Higgins worked for 16 years as a medical laboratory senior office. He now works as a freelance writer, and has written a series of articles for both the Nursing Times and the British Journal of Nursing.

Preface vii Acknowledgements viii Part 1 Introduction 1 1 Introduction to Clinical Laboratories 3 2 Some Principles of Laboratory Testing 13 Part 2 Clinical Biochemistry Tests 31 3 Blood Glucose and HbA1c 33 4 Plasma/Serum Sodium and Potassium 54 5 Plasma/Serum Urea and Creatinine; and e-GFR 75 6 Plasma/Serum Calcium and Phosphate 90 7 Arterial Blood Gases 108 8 Plasma/Serum Cholesterol and Triglycerides 134 9 Cardiac Markers Troponin, Creatine Kinase (MB) and Brain Natriuretic Peptide (BNP) 148 10 Tests of Thyroid Function Thyroxine (T4), Triiodothyronine (T3) and Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) 160 11 Liver Function Tests: Alanine Transferase (ALT), Gamma Glutamyl Transferase (GGT), Alkaline Phosphatase (AP), Bilirubin and Albumin 176 12 Plasma/Serum Amylase 196 13 Drug Overdose: Paracetamol and Salicylate 205 14 Therapeutic Drug Monitoring: Lithium, Digoxin and Theophylline 215 Part 3 Haematology Tests 225 15 Full Blood Count 1: Red Blood Cell Count, Haemoglobin and Other Red Cell Indices 227 16 Full Blood Count 2: White Cell Count and Differential 243 17 Tests of Haemostasis: Platelet Count, Prothrombin Time (PT), Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time (APPT), Thrombin Time (TT) and D-dimer 255 18 Laboratory Investigation of Anaemia: Serum Iron, Total Iron Binding Capacity, Serum Ferritin, Serum B12 and Folate 274 19 Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR) and Plasma C-Reactive Protein (CRP) 290 Part 4 Blood Transfusion Testing 299 20 Blood Group, Antibody Screen and Crossmatch 301 Part 5 Microbiology Testing 323 21 Urine Microscopy, Culture and Sensitivity (M,C&S) 325 22 Blood Culture 339 Part 6 Screening Tests 353 23 Newborn Screening Blood Tests 355 24 Cervical Screening Test 370 25 Dipstick Testing of Urine 384 Glossary of Some Terms used in Laboratory Medicine 395 Abbreviations 400 Appendix: Adult Reference Ranges 402 Alphabetical Index of Tests 405 Index 407