Accurate Results in the Clinical Laboratory


Book Description

Accurate Results in the Clinical Laboratory: A Guide to Error Detection and Correction, Second Edition, provides a comprehensive review of the factors leading to errors in all areas of clinical laboratory testing. This trusted guide addresses interference issues in all laboratory tests, including patient epigenetics, processes of specimen collection, enzymes and biomarkers. Clinicians and laboratory scientists will both benefit from this reference that applies discussions to both accurate specimen analysis and optimal patient care. Hence, this is the perfect reference for clinical laboratorians, from trainees, to experienced pathologists and directors. - Provides comprehensive coverage across endocrine, oncology, hematology, immunohistochemistry, immunology, serology, microbiology, and molecular testing - Includes new case studies that highlight clinical relevance and errors to avoid - Highlights the best titles published within a variety of medical specialties - Reviewed by medical librarians and content specialists, with key selections compiled in their annual list




Summary of Results of Tests Made by Aluminum Research Laboratories of Spot-welded Joints and Structural Elements


Book Description

Available information concerning spot welding as a means of joining aluminum-alloy parts has been summarized and comparisons have been made of the relative merits of spot-welding and riveted aluminum-alloy structural elements. The results indicated that spot welding was as satisfactory as riveting insofar as resistance to static loads is concerned. Spot welds showed slightly lower resistance to impact loads but definitely lower resistance to repeated loads than rivets.




SAFER Electronic Health Records


Book Description

This important volume provide a one-stop resource on the SAFER Guides along with the guides themselves and information on their use, development, and evaluation. The Safety Assurance Factors for EHR Resilience (SAFER) guides, developed by the editors of this book, identify recommended practices to optimize the safety and safe use of electronic heal




Multiple Myeloma and Other Plasma Cell Neoplasms


Book Description

This book is a comprehensive source of up-to-date information on plasma cell neoplasms. Key features include the provision of new criteria for the diagnosis of symptomatic multiple myeloma requiring treatment and the description of novel therapies for myeloma and other plasma cell neoplasms that have only very recently been licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Examples include lenalidomide as first-line therapy, panobinostat in combination with bortezomib plus dexamethasone for relapsed/refractory myeloma, ibrutinib for Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia, and new therapeutic regimens for systemic amyloidosis and POEMS syndrome. Information is also provided on drug combinations that have shown encouraging results and are very near to approval. Other important aspects covered in the book are the role of different imaging modalities in workup and the significance of newly acquired data relating to prognosis and minimal residual disease. Readers will find Multiple Myeloma and Other Plasma Cell Neoplasms to be a rich source of knowledge that will be invaluable in improving patient management.




Assessment of Diagnostic Technology in Health Care


Book Description

Technology assessment can lead to the rapid application of essential diagnostic technologies and prevent the wide diffusion of marginally useful methods. In both of these ways, it can increase quality of care and decrease the cost of health care. This comprehensive monograph carefully explores methods of and barriers to diagnostic technology assessment and describes both the rationale and the guidelines for meaningful evaluation. While proposing a multi-institutional approach, it emphasizes some of the problems involved and defines a mechanism for improving the evaluation and use of medical technology and essential resources needed to enhance patient care.




Improving Diagnosis in Health Care


Book Description

Getting the right diagnosis is a key aspect of health care - it provides an explanation of a patient's health problem and informs subsequent health care decisions. The diagnostic process is a complex, collaborative activity that involves clinical reasoning and information gathering to determine a patient's health problem. According to Improving Diagnosis in Health Care, diagnostic errors-inaccurate or delayed diagnoses-persist throughout all settings of care and continue to harm an unacceptable number of patients. It is likely that most people will experience at least one diagnostic error in their lifetime, sometimes with devastating consequences. Diagnostic errors may cause harm to patients by preventing or delaying appropriate treatment, providing unnecessary or harmful treatment, or resulting in psychological or financial repercussions. The committee concluded that improving the diagnostic process is not only possible, but also represents a moral, professional, and public health imperative. Improving Diagnosis in Health Care, a continuation of the landmark Institute of Medicine reports To Err Is Human (2000) and Crossing the Quality Chasm (2001), finds that diagnosis-and, in particular, the occurrence of diagnostic errorsâ€"has been largely unappreciated in efforts to improve the quality and safety of health care. Without a dedicated focus on improving diagnosis, diagnostic errors will likely worsen as the delivery of health care and the diagnostic process continue to increase in complexity. Just as the diagnostic process is a collaborative activity, improving diagnosis will require collaboration and a widespread commitment to change among health care professionals, health care organizations, patients and their families, researchers, and policy makers. The recommendations of Improving Diagnosis in Health Care contribute to the growing momentum for change in this crucial area of health care quality and safety.




Laboratory Tests and Diagnostic Procedures


Book Description

Find complete answers to questions such as which laboratory tests to order or what the results might mean. Laboratory Tests and Diagnostic Procedures, 6th Edition covers more tests than any other reference of its kind, with over 900 lab tests and diagnostic procedures in all. In Part I, you'll find an alphabetical list of hundreds of diseases, conditions, and symptoms, including the tests and procedures most commonly used to confirm or rule out a suspected diagnosis. In Part II, you’ll find descriptions of virtually every laboratory and diagnostic test available. This edition is updated with the latest research and over 20 NEW test entries. Written by educator Cynthia Chernecky and clinical nurse specialist Barbara Berger, this lab reference covers today’s lab tests with concise, easy-to-use information. More than 900 laboratory tests and diagnostic procedures are included — more than any other reference! Over 600 diseases, conditions, and symptoms are listed, along with the tests used to confirm them. Alphabetical organization and A-to-Z thumb tabs make it easy to find the information you’re looking for. Alternative test names and acronyms are cross-referenced to simplify lookup. Instructions for client and family teaching help you offer guidance concerning test preparation and follow-up care. Age and gender-specific norms are provided, giving you complete lifespan coverage. Risks and Contraindications are highlighted to help you safeguard your patients and provide effective care. Panic Level Symptoms and Treatment are provided for dangerously increased and decreased levels. Minimum volumes for blood samples are included, useful when a client’s blood preservation is essential, as well as information on whether blood specimens can be drawn during hemodialysis. Tests for toxic substances are included, making this a lab, diagnostic, and toxicology book all in one. Abbreviations, measurement prefixes, and symbols are listed on the front and back covers for convenience. Information on herbal supplements indicates when a client’s use of natural remedies might affect test results. Over 20 NEW test entries present the latest tests and procedures, with a strong focus on affordable, clinically relevant genetic tests. UPDATED content includes the latest research relating to accuracy of tests, diagnostic value of results, and associated cost-benefit ratios.




Testing Treatments


Book Description

This work provides a thought-provoking account of how medical treatments can be tested with unbiased or 'fair' trials and explains how patients can work with doctors to achieve this vital goal. It spans the gamut of therapy from mastectomy to thalidomide and explores a vast range of case studies.







Basic and Advanced Statistical Tests


Book Description

This book focuses on extraction of pertinent information from statistical test outputs, in order to write result sections and/or accompanying tables and/or figures. The book is divided into two encompassing sections: Part I – Basic Statistical Tests and Part II – Advanced Statistical Tests. Part I includes 9 basic statistical tests, and Part II includes 7 advanced statistical tests. Each chapter provides the name of a basic or advanced statistical test, a brief description, examples of when to use each, a sample scenario, and a sample results section write-up. Depending on the test and need, most chapters provide a table and/or figure to accompany the write-up. The purpose of the book is to provide researchers with a reference manual for writing results sections and tables/figures in scholarly works. The authors fill a gap in research support manuals by focusing on sample write-ups and tables/figures for given statistical tests. The book assists researchers by eliminating the need to comb through numerous publications to determine necessary information to report, as well as correct APA format to use, at the close of analyses.