Abnormal laboratory results

Doody's Book Review

This small, concise pocket-szed book covers a broad range of laboratory tests, test applications, methodology, and interpretation of abnormal results. This book is a collection of individual articles originally published in the "Abnormal Laboratory Results" section of the Australian Prescriber . The original version of this book was last published in 1987, and this version contains updates of the original articles. The purpose is to educate readers on how to interpret abnormal laboratory values. The heavy clinical emphasis in this book makes it best suited for medical students, residents and housestaff, and practicing physicians. It would also be of interest to anyone involved in any aspect of laboratory medicine. This book contains 31 chapters, 28 of which cover specific tests, methodology, and results interpretation. The first three chapters cover general but highly relevant laboratory medicine topics (e.g., what to do about abnormal laboratory results, what is "abnormal," and reference ranges). This book is by no means a comprehensive compendium of laboratory medicine (and how could it be, with only 28 specific tests discussed), but it is a great read. I must admit, I groaned when I saw the title and read that it contained articles from the Australian Prescriber (not on my regular reading list). I was, however, quickly and pleasantly surprised by the concise, direct, to-the-point manner and especially enjoyed the pithy humor and dry wit. I couldn't stop reading until I had finished this book (only took about an hour) and decided that I had to recommend it to all of the laboratory medicine residents in my training program! I really appreciated (and was gratified) at the repeated advice in multiple chapters to not order a laboratory test unless clinically indicated. I do have to point out that some of the information relates to practices not common in the United States - for example, the chapter on HIV testing discusses a classification scheme for Western Blot interpretation that is not used here. Outside of these rare situations, the rest of this book is transparently applicable to medical practice in the United States. This book packs an amazing punch for its small size. I highly recommend it and will display it prominently on my bookshelf, and perhaps make it mandatory reading for laboratory medicine residents in our training program. Valerie L. Ng, PhD, MD(University of California San Francisco). Copyright 2001, Doody Publishing