Laboratory Screening and Diagnostic Evaluation

An important aim of this book is to provide a reference and guide in clinical practice and to also spark some ideas for clinical practice improvement, either at the individual patient level or at the system level. Multiple collaborators helped make this book a reality, especially since it was produced during a global pandemic! Being able to bring wisdom together from a variety of professions and specialties is one strength of this book—our contributing authors are from primary care and specialty practices, inpatient and outpatient practices and are nurse practitioners, physician assistants, physicians, pharmacists, medical lab scientists, clinical nurse specialists, certified nurse midwives, and certified registered nurse anesthetists! In all, the book summarizes over 3,000 pieces of evidence and incorporates the influence of genetic heritage and gender on the ordering and interpretation of tests. The authors challenge us to find at least one thing in this book that can change our practice to be more evidence-based. This book is organized into three sections. Section I provides foundational information and skills to help the reader appropriately order and interpret laboratory tests. Evidence-based practice is reviewed as are important concepts in laboratory interpretation, such as sensitivity and specificity. Section II reviews general circumstances that apply to all laboratory tests, for example direct to consumer genetic testing and pre-operative laboratory evaluation. Section III reviews 160+ individual laboratory tests and is likely where the reader will spend the majority of their time. Each chapter reviews the pathophysiology related to test ordering and interpretation, reviews the available evidence, and provides clinical pearls from practicing clinicians. The authors hope that one can find this book useful to clinical practice and enjoy learning pearls from a variety of the contributing authors. They also hope it helps one on their evidence-based practice journey.