Laboratory diagnostics is a unique way of research. Methods and features

A large number of existing diseases, the individual degree of manifestation of symptoms in different people complicate the process of diagnosis. Often in practice, it is not enough to use only the knowledge and skills of a doctor. In this case, the correct diagnosis is helped by clinical laboratory diagnostics. With its help at an early stage pathologies are detected, the development of the disease is monitored, its possible course is assessed and the effectiveness of the prescribed treatment is determined. To date, medical laboratory diagnostics is one of the most rapidly developing areas of medicine.

The concept of

Laboratory diagnostics is a medical discipline that applies in practice standard diagnostic methods for detecting and monitoring diseases, as well as searching for and studying new methods.

Clinical laboratory diagnosis greatly facilitates the diagnosis and allows you to choose the most effective therapy regimen.

Sub-branches of laboratory diagnostics are:

• Clinical biochemistry;
• Clinical hematology;
• immunology;
• virology;
• Clinical serology;
• microbiology;
• toxicology;
• cytology;
• bacteriology;
• parasitology;
• mycology;
• Coagulation;
• Laboratory genetics;
• General clinical research.

Information obtained through various methods of clinical laboratory diagnosis, reflects the course of the disease at the organ, cellular and molecular levels. Due to this, the doctor has the opportunity to diagnose the pathology in time or to evaluate the result after the treatment.

Tasks

Laboratory diagnostics is designed to solve the following tasks:

• Continuous search and study of new methods for analyzing the biomaterial;
• Analysis of the functioning of all human organs and systems using existing methods;
• Detection of the pathological process at all its stages;
• Control over the development of pathology;
• Evaluation of the result of therapy;
• Accurate diagnosis.

The main function of the clinical laboratory is to provide the doctor with information about the analysis of the biomaterial, comparing the results with normal parameters.

To date, 80% of all information important for diagnosing and monitoring treatment is provided by a clinical laboratory.

Types of material under study

Laboratory diagnostics is a way of obtaining reliable information by examining one or several types of human biological material:

• Venous blood is taken for hematological analysis from a large vein (mainly at the elbow bend).
• Arterial blood - is most often taken to assess CBS (acid-base state) of large veins (mainly from the hip or the area under the clavicle).
• Capillary blood - is taken for a lot of research from the finger.
• Plasma - it is obtained by centrifuging the blood (ie, dividing it into components).
• Serum - blood plasma after the separation of fibrinogen (a component that is an indicator of blood coagulability).
• Morning urine - collected immediately after awakening, is intended for general analysis.
• Daily diuresis - urine, which is collected in one tank during the day.

Stages

Laboratory diagnostics includes the following stages:

• Preanalytical;
• analytical;
• Postanalytical.

The pre-analytic stage implies:

• Observance by the person of necessary rules of preparation for the analysis.
• Documentary registration of a patient when appearing in a medical institution.
• Signature of test tubes and other containers (for example, with urine) in the presence of the patient. On them, the name of the medical worker is the name and type of analysis - he must pronounce these data out loud to confirm their reliability by the patient.
• Subsequent processing of the biomaterial.
• Storage.
• Transportation.

The analytical stage is a process of direct investigation of the obtained biological material in the laboratory.

The post-analysis phase includes:

• Documentation of results.
• Interpretation of results.
• Formation of a report containing: the patient's data, the person who conducted the study, the medical institution, the laboratory, the date and time of sampling of the biomaterial, normal clinical limits, results with relevant conclusions and comments.

Methods

The main methods of laboratory diagnostics are physicochemical. Their essence lies in the study of the material taken for the interrelation of its various properties.

Physicochemical methods are divided into:

• Optical;
• Electrochemical;
• Chromatographic;
• Kinetic.

Most often in clinical practice, the optical method is used. It consists in fixing changes in the light beam passing through the biomaterial prepared for the study.

The second place in terms of the number of analyzes is the chromatographic method.

Probability of errors

It is important to understand that clinical laboratory diagnostics is a kind of study in the process of which mistakes can be made.

Each laboratory should be equipped with high-quality tools, analyzes should be performed by highly qualified specialists.

According to statistics, the main share of errors falls on the pre-analytic stage - 50-75%, analytical - 13-23%, post-analysis - 9-30%. Regular measures should be taken to reduce the likelihood of errors at each stage of the laboratory test.

Clinical laboratory diagnostics is one of the most informative and reliable ways of obtaining information about the state of health of the organism. With its help it is possible to identify any pathologies at an early stage and take timely measures to eliminate them.