Do you often feel confused when reading exam results? Wondering what those lab terms and words might mean? This article helps you understand what the doctor says about the test results. Please note that this tutorial does not intend or purport to give medical advice in any way.
Steps
Part 1 of 4: Mandatory Office Elements
All laboratory results must contain some fundamental elements, as required by the legislation. Here are the main ones.
Step 1. Patient name and social security number
This data is required for correct identification and to ensure that test results are associated with the correct patient.
Step 2. Name and address of the laboratory
The laboratory in which the analysis is performed must appear on the form, for the purpose of assuming responsibility.
Step 3. Date of issue of results
This is the day the results are processed and reported to the ordering physician.
Part 2 of 4: Mandatory Elements of Samples and Tests
Step 1. Area of expertise
Some basic topics include hematology (the study of blood cells), chemistry (the study of certain chemical components found in blood or tissues), urinalysis (the study of urine and urinary sediments and components), bacteriology / microbiology (the study of bacteria that may be present in the body), immunology (the study of the body's defense substances, called antibodies), endocrinology (the study of hormones) and immunohematology (the study of blood types and blood cell proteins). Most of these results are printed in a columnar table.
Step 2. Source of samples
This is crucial, because some elements, such as proteins, can be analyzed from multiple sources, such as blood or urine.
Step 3. Date and time of sample collection
As some tests are affected by the time the sample is collected, this must be reported in each report.
Step 4. Name of the test performed
Although the name of the test appears, it is often expressed in abbreviated form. This site, even if it is a private laboratory, contains a detailed list of a series of tests and their abbreviations.
Step 5. Test results
The result can be viewed in different ways, depending on the type of exam. It can be expressed in number (for example, on a cholesterol scale), with a positive or negative indication (like in a pregnancy test) or with a description (i.e. the name of the bacteria taken from a site infected).
- Abnormal results usually get highlighted in some way. Some laboratories report an "L" to indicate that the number is lower than the reference range, or an "H" can mean that it is higher (if they use an Anglo-Saxon language: "L" to indicate low, while "H" to indicate high).
- Findings that are dangerously abnormal should be reported to the doctor immediately and are usually marked with an asterisk.
Step 6. Reference range
This indicates the range within which the results must fall to be within the norm.
- There are many factors that determine whether the results fall within a reference range, including age and gender, general stress level, or a pregnancy.
- It is entirely possible that a particular laboratory test could go off the reference scale, even though you are in good health. It is not necessarily a sign of something troubling. You should still see your doctor if you fear for a certain result.
Part 3 of 4: Marks
Test markers are letters or characters that draw attention to a laboratory result.
Step 1. Here are the common marks
In laboratories that use the Anglo-Saxon language (now widespread almost everywhere), C indicates a critical situation (sometimes there may also be a comment), H for High, L for Low, CH for very critical, CL for little critical and D for Delta. A Delta value indicates a large and sudden change in an analysis result from a previous test. The parameter with a Delta value can usually be found in tests performed during a hospital stay.
Look in some area of the report if you find a legend explaining what certain letters (the markings) represent in the specific report. It is usually found at the bottom of the results page
Step 2. If you don't find any specific details, it usually means that the result is normal
Normal values are generally shown on the right side of the result.
Step 3. Write down the parameters corresponding to the laboratory exam
They are usually found on the left column. For example, if the result is 3, 0 (L) and the test refers to potassium, record this result. You can then ask your doctor about the meaning of the outcome or you can do an online search on your own.
Part 4 of 4: Your Rights
Step 1. Get a copy of the report released
If you have undergone blood tests, it is your right to obtain a copy of this test from the doctor or laboratory that performed it. Since you request it, the medical facility has a limited time to get it to you.
Step 2. Review the information obtained
Your doctor is responsible for explaining any laboratory results to you during your visit when you visit him.
Advice
- Keep in mind that you don't have a degree in medicine or biology - you can't know everything.
- Know that you may not always get results right away. Sometimes, especially if you are hospitalized, the doctor treating you can simply inform you verbally about the results, but you can request a copy of the medical record once you are discharged.
- Urinalysis is useful, among other things, to find out any urinary tract infections and kidney function.
- Immunohematology: is the branch of hematology that studies the immunological properties of the blood and the immunological mechanisms underlying some diseases.
- Microbiology results are often long and complex, with specific and confusing terms. You should talk to your doctor and ask for simpler language to better understand the results.
- Immunology: is the branch of biomedical sciences that deals with the immune system (the body's defense system).
- Bacteriology: is the branch of biology that studies bacteria.
- Hematology: is the branch of internal medicine that deals with the blood and the organs that make up the hematopoietic system.
- Always contact your doctor for details on laboratory results. Sometimes some labs are not allowed to give results to patients due to the privacy law.
- Chemistry: Chemistry is the science, or more precisely that branch of the natural sciences, which studies the composition of matter and its behavior.
- To view a sample lab report, go to: https://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d11/BgJff/examplelabreport-j.webp" />
- Endocrinology: is that part of internal medicine that studies the pathologies of the glands with internal secretion, that is, those whose product is directly introduced into the blood.
- Sometimes it takes a long time to get the exam report. Tests for some bacteria can often take 6 to 8 weeks to get results.
- Keep a log to track exam results over time.
- Here is a link that reports several normal laboratory values. "Normal values" may vary from laboratory to laboratory (due to differences in methodology and equipment) and also from area to area (different population groups may have different laboratory values due to differences in lifestyle, diet and other factors). For this reason, what is considered a normal range of results in your area is not exactly the same in other areas.
Warnings
- This article is in no way intended to give medical advice. To get medical advice, contact your doctor.
- Never use lab results as an excuse to treat yourself to some rewards. Laboratory tests are only part of a wide range of tools used by doctors to diagnose and manage disease or disease states. Trying to identify health problems from medical tests alone is like trying to describe all the rooms in a house when only the dining room is allowed to be visited. In the same way, a complete medical examination, imaging tests (x-rays, CT scans, etc.), the patient's medical history and other diagnostic tools help the doctor understand and treat diseases and health problems.
