Episode 74 – These Aren’t the Labs You’re Looking For

There are a lot of misconceptions surrounding the meaning of certain lab values and what a positive truly is. Are these numbers as black and white as they are perceived? In this podcast episode, we discuss sensitivity versus specificity, define some of the most common labs and how to avoid tunnel vision when it comes to your clinical interpretation.

Labs:

D-Dimer

BNP

Serum Calcium

Chemistry CO2

BUN/Creatinine

Troponin

Lactate

https://ajkdblog.org/2020/02/20/contrast-induced-nephropathy-does-it-really-exist/https://emcrit.org/pulmcrit/do-ct-scans-cause-contrast-nephropathy/

https://www.ebmconsult.com/articles/lab-test-carbon-dioxide-co2-level

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2724361

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK431064/#:~:text=A%20normal%20D%2DDimer%20is,Dimer%20is%20a%20positive%20screen.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1860726/