Objective 1: To understand the use of laboratory tests in clinical practice.
1. Purposes of laboratory tests
A. They are used for mass screening (e.g., phenylketonuria in newborns), screening asymptomatic patients (e.g., mammography), and screening symptomatic patients (e.g., stress electrocardiogram in a patient with chest pain).
B. They are used to confirm a diagnosis (e.g., coronary angiogram to confirm coronary artery disease in a patient with a positive stress electrocardiogram).
C. They are used to monitor a patientís disease status (e.g., serum glucose in a person with uncontrolled diabetes).