(1) ROUTINE BIOLOGICAL TESTS

Biological Tests for Carcinogenicity

in which ground glass connections could not be used because of the large size of the flasks, it was found that benzene extracts of rubber stoppers previously washed with ether and methanol still contained blue-green fluorescing substances. These extracts had the ultraviolet absorption spectra of carcinogenic hydrocarbons and other compounds of interest. This discovery seemed of such great possi...

Routine preoperative coagulation tests: an outdated practice?

Routine coagulation tests have been used for many years in the preoperative setting in the belief that they identify patients who may have acquired or congenital bleeding disorders, and on the assumption that testing will predict perioperative bleeding allowing treatment to be given and prevent it. Coagulation ‘screens’ typically include the prothrombin time (PT) and the activated partial throm...

Sodium valproate and routine liver function tests.

Diagnostic value of routine liver tests.

In 131 patients on a medical service and 97 patients on a surgical service, in whom a diagnosis of hepatobiliary disease was verified in the hospital, the diagnostic value of routine liver tests performed soon after admission was evaluated by stepwise discriminant analysis. By measurements of alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatases, gamma globulin, prothrombin time, bilirubin, and album...

Routine tests should be challenged in cardiology.

The need for routine diagnostic tests and procedures needs to be challenged in medical practice, because of continuous pressure to reduce the costs of health care systems. If costs can be minimized by avoidance of routine tests, more sources can perhaps be directed to new advanced diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. This challenge is important particularly in cardiology, because while new di...