Articles on Medical Diseases and Conditions

Several common hospital conditions may affect laboratory results without such alteration being recognized by the physician. These include intravenous fluids running at the time the test specimen is drawn, the effect of dehydration, the effect of heparin flushes on some tests, the effects of various medications, and in certain cases the administration of medication at […]

Physiologic differences between groups of persons may affect test results. These deviations may be attributable to normal metabolic alterations in certain circumstances. Some examples are age (e.g., an increase in alkaline phosphataselevels in children compared with adult values), sex (e.g., higher values for serum uric acid in males than in females), race (e.g., higher values […]