Diagnostic Procedures & Reporting Flashcards
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Read the first 7 Diagnostic Procedures & Reporting flashcards as text
A critical value for serum potassium is reported to the nurse. The nurse is unavailable. What is the correct next step?
Answer: Contact the charge nurse or covering physician and document
Critical values must be communicated to a responsible caregiver immediately; if the primary nurse is unavailable, the charge nurse or covering provider must be notified and all attempts documented.
Which analyte requires a timed 24-hour urine collection for the most clinically meaningful result?
Answer: Creatinine clearance
Creatinine clearance requires a 24-hour urine collection to calculate glomerular filtration rate accurately by accounting for diurnal variation in excretion.
A laboratory receives a blood culture bottle that has been incubating for 5 days with no growth signal. What is the standard reporting outcome?
Answer: Report 'No growth at 5 days' and discard
Standard blood culture incubation is 5 days; bottles with no instrument signal at that point are reported as 'No growth at 5 days' and discarded per protocol.
Which of the following urine findings is most consistent with nephrotic syndrome?
Answer: 3+ proteinuria with fatty casts and oval fat bodies
Nephrotic syndrome is characterized by massive proteinuria, hypoalbuminemia, and lipiduria, producing fatty casts and oval fat bodies (Maltese cross pattern) on urinalysis.
A hemoglobin electrophoresis at alkaline pH shows a band migrating to the S position. Which confirmatory test best differentiates HbS from HbD?
Answer: Acid electrophoresis (pH 6.2)
Acid electrophoresis separates HbS from HbD because HbD migrates with HbA at acid pH while HbS remains in the S position, confirming the identity of the variant.
A CSF specimen is received with xanthochromia. This finding is most suggestive of:
Answer: Subarachnoid hemorrhage that occurred hours to days ago
Xanthochromia (yellow discoloration) results from oxyhemoglobin and bilirubin released after red cell lysis and is a hallmark of subarachnoid hemorrhage, typically appearing 2–4 hours after the bleed.
When reporting a Pap smear result using the Bethesda System, the term 'NILM' indicates:
Answer: Negative for intraepithelial lesion or malignancy
NILM stands for Negative for Intraepithelial Lesion or Malignancy, meaning the cervical sample shows no cytologic evidence of a precancerous or cancerous process.