Medical Laboratory Testing (Blood)

Eye care practitioners play an important role in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of both systemic and ocular diseases. Ordering blood work, interpreting those results, and developing a treatment plan often rely on the proper ordering and interpretation of blood tests. Treatment plans, referral to other medical specialists, and positive patient outcomes depend on proper technique for blood draw, lab efficiency, and doctor interpretation. Blood testing may be used to assess overall general health, diagnose disease, or to check the therapeutic effects of current treatment plans. Infectious diseases are also diagnosed through blood testing and are the means of diagnosing infectious etiologies manifesting with ophthalmic symptoms. Depending on the disease, blood testing might be done yearly, monthly, weekly, or daily. Treatment plans are often altered or modified because of blood results obtained. Medications are changed, dosages are changed, and potentially life-threatening side effects are identified and averted in many cases. Blood testing and its interpretation are an important hallmark of diagnosis in an emergency room/trauma setting. In the emergency setting, patients are often unable to verbalize problems due to trauma, stroke, unconsciousness, or confusion. Accurate assessment by an ER physician will dictate what blood work needs to be done to provide care to the struggling, ill, or traumatized patient. Popular blood testing in the ER setting is often geared to determine etiologies including infections, life-threatening allergies, anemias, kidney and liver function, diabetes, cardiac conditions, blood clotting problems, and electrolyte imbalances.