…s are need to perform a BMBT. These produce a standardized cut in the mucosa, the depth of which are sufficient to provoke (and thus evaluate) platelet plug formation but are not deep enough to necessitate fibrin formation, making the test specific for primary hemostasis (as long as it is performed properly). There are two spring-loaded lancet devices, the Surgicutt® or Simplate II®. Surgicutt devices also come with lancets for adults and childr…
…n relatively low concentrations in health or disease, they contribute only a little to changes in the anion gap and are not considered strong cations. For more information on these minerals, see related links below. Renal tests The kidney not only has a central role in responding to acid-base disturbances, but can also be responsible for a primary disturbance (or lack of compensation or attempted correction) if kidney function is abnormal. For ex…
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…loss of chloride and sodium are the major mechanisms for a change in chloride concentration. A loss or gain of free water and/or a loss or gain of electrolyte-rich fluids will change sodium and chloride concentrations proportionally. For example, a secretory diarrhea results in excessive loss of sodium and chloride with respect to free water (“gain of free water”) in intestinal secretions combined with water retention secondary to stimulation of…
The ability of an instrument to perform a test does not guarantee that the generated results are accurate. Ensuring that laboratory equipment is providing reliable data requires a comprehensive plan that encompasses both common sense practices aimed at preventing errors at each stage of the testing process and standard operating procedures (SOPs) to validate and monitor analyzer performance. These two arms of the plan are known as quality assura…
Bilirubin is considered a test of hepatic function, in essence the ability of the hepatocyte to take up unconjugated bilirubin in blood, conjugate it (render it water-soluble) and excrete bilirubin into bile, where it is broken down in the intestine by bacteria. However, in reality, bilirubin is not used as a test of the functional capacity of the liver (rather bile acids and ammonia are the more common tests used for this) but more as…
…njury, and abnormal macrophage function (e.g. hemophagocytic syndrome, hemophagocytic variant of histiocytic sarcoma). Therefore spherocytes do not always indicate an IMHA. Agglutination. This should be distinguished from rouleaux formation by dilution with saline (using a ratio of 1:4 to 1:10 RBC to saline – rouleaux should disperse whereas agglutination is usually still present on slide agglutination tests or microscopic examination of th…
Many factors other than disease influence the results of chemistry tests. These factors may be preanalytical, analytical and post-analytical. Extra-analytic errors is applied to errors in which the cause is not identified or due to more than one factor (Whipple et al 2020). Preanalytical variables are variables associated with the patient, sample collection and sample handling. These generally affect the composition of the body fluid befor…
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…delines (more detail than above) on the Animal Health Diagnostic Center website Hemostasis Clinical pathologic tests Blood tube selection guide: A great guide for selecting tubes for sample submission. Cytology collection guidelines on the Animal Health Diagnostic Center website General information on cytologic specimens Collection and handling: Includes masses, body cavity fluids, urine, bone marrow samples. A comprehensive list…
…phagocytized. Partial phagocytosis of erythrocytes forms spherocytes which, in large numbers, are pathognomonic for IMHA. Note, that spherocytes are most readily seen in the dog, because central pallor is usually present in canine erythrocytes. They are difficult to observe in other species. The immunoglobulin- and complement that are attached to or coating the red blood cells can be detected in a direct Coombs test using a Coombs reagent, which…
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