Advertisement
-
1
Arroll B, Allan GM, Elley CR, et al: Diagnosis in primary care: probabilistic reasoning. J Prim Health Care 4: 166, 2012.
-
2
Cosimi AB: Modern day bloodletting: is that laboratory test necessary: comment on “Surgical Vampires and Rising Health Care Expenditure.” Arch Surg 146: 527, 2011.
-
3
Wallerstein RO : Role of the laboratory in the diagnosis of anemia. JAMA 236: 490, 1976.
-
4
Murphy MF, Wallington TB, Kelsey P, et al: Guidelines for the clinical use of red cell transfusions. Br J Haematol 113: 24, 2001.
-
5
Brown AE: Neutropenia, fever and infection. Am J Med 76: 241, 1984.
-
6
van Veen JJ , Spahn DR, Makris M: Routine preoperative coagulation tests: an outdated practice? Br J Anaesth 106: 1, 2011.
-
7
May AK, Kauffmann RM, Collier BR: The place for glycemic control in the surgical patient. Surg Infect (Larchmt) 12: 405, 2011.
-
8
Russell L : The importance of patients' nutritional status in wound healing. Br J Nurs 10 (suppl): S42, 2001.
-
9
Friedman LS: The risk of surgery in patients with liver disease. Hepatology 29: 1617, 1999.
-
10
Geraci S: Canary in the coal mine: cardiac troponins in noncoronary disease. Am J Med 125: 527, 2012.
-
11
Morrison LK, Harrison A, Krishnaswamy P, et al: Utility of a rapid B-natriuretic peptide assay in differentiating congestive heart failure from lung disease in patients presenting with dyspnea. J Am Coll Cardiol 39: 202, 2002.
-
12
Cipriano CA, Brown NM, Michael AM, et al: Serum and fluid analysis for diagnosing chronic periprosthetic infection in patients with inflammatory arthritis. J Bone Joint Surg Am 94: 594, 2012.
-
13
Brigden ML : Clinical utility of the erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Am Fam Physician 60: 1443, 1999.
-
14
Ishimura K , Sugiyama D, Kogata Y, et al: Meta-analysis: diagnostic accuracy of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody and rheumatoid factor for rheumatoid arthritis. Ann Intern Med 146: 797, 2007.
-
15
Pisetsky DS : Antinuclear antibodies in rheumatic disease: a proposal for a function-based classification. Scand J Immunol 76: 223, 2012.
-
16
Mandell BF: Clinical manifestations of hyperuricemia and gout. Cleve Clin J Med 75 (suppl 5): S5, 2008.
-
17
Vanzant AM, Schmelzer M : Detecting and treating sepsis in the emergency department. J Emerg Nurs 37: 47, 2011.
-
18
Yasuoka S , Kubota S: The value of blood D-dimer test in the diagnosis of walk-in patients with venous thromboembolism. Vasc Health Risk Manag 7: 125, 2011.
Utility of Diagnostic Blood Tests in Clinical Podiatric Medicine
Clinical podiatric medical practice encompasses a wide spectrum of podiatric medical and surgical problems. Technological advances such as imaging have greatly improved diagnostic acumen; however, physical diagnosis and blood testing remain extremely important factors in reinforcing diagnostic hypotheses as a part of differential diagnosis. There are certain blood tests of importance that the podiatric medical practitioner should be familiar with in everyday medical and surgical practice. The purpose of this article is to identify and highlight which blood tests are truly essential and practical in terms of diagnosis. This article encompasses blood tests pertinent to the clinical areas of hematology, hemostasis, electrolytes, endocrine, cardiac, rheumatology, nephrology, and gastroenterology. Careful selection of these tests and proper interpretation of their results will help reinforce diagnostic hypotheses.
