Lab Medicine

lab medicine questions

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Jun 24
A patient with recurrent venous thrombosis has a prolonged aPTT that does not correct on 1:1 mixing. A dilute Russell viper venom time (dRVVT) is prolonged and corrects when excess phospholipid is added. What does this confirm?
Closed
Jun 23
A patient with anaemia (haematocrit 25%) has a reticulocyte count of 4%. After correcting for the anaemia and reticulocyte maturation, is the marrow response adequate?
Closed
Jun 22
A fasting lipid panel reports total cholesterol 6.0, HDL 1.0, and triglycerides 5.0 mmol/L. Why should a calculated (Friedewald) LDL not be reported for this sample?
Closed
Jun 21
In the workup of a microcytic anaemia, which iron-study constellation best fits anaemia of chronic disease rather than iron deficiency?
Closed
Jun 20
48 hours after starting chemotherapy for a bulky high-grade lymphoma, a patient develops raised potassium, raised phosphate, raised uric acid, low calcium, and rising creatinine. What is the diagnosis, and why is the calcium low?
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Jun 19
A patient with anaemia has this constellation: elevated LDH, low/undetectable haptoglobin, raised unconjugated (indirect) bilirubin, and a HIGH reticulocyte count. What does this indicate, and what is the next test?
Closed
Jun 18
A clinically euthyroid patient on high-dose biotin supplements has a suppressed TSH with elevated free T4 and free T3 and a positive TRAb, mimicking Graves disease. Which mechanism best explains this pattern?
Closed
Jun 17
A patient with a bulky germ-cell tumour has a serum β-hCG reported as only mildly elevated, discordant with imaging. On 1:100 dilution the measured β-hCG is dramatically higher. Which phenomenon explains the falsely low initial result?
Closed
Jun 16
A patient with multiple myeloma and very high total protein has a serum sodium of 125 mmol/L on the chemistry analyser (indirect ISE), but the blood gas analyser (direct ISE) reports 140 mmol/L. What explains the discrepancy?
Closed
Jun 15
A patient has a high anion gap metabolic acidosis. Measured serum osmolality is 320 mOsm/kg, with Na+ 140, glucose 5.0, and urea 5.0 mmol/L (ethanol undetectable). How should the osmolar gap be interpreted?
Closed
Jun 14
A patient has a microcytic, hypochromic anemia (low MCV, low MCH) with a low serum ferritin. What is the most likely diagnosis?
Closed
Jun 13
A patient presents with metabolic acidosis. Serum Na+ is 140, Cl- is 100, and HCO3- is 12 mmol/L. How should the calculated anion gap be interpreted?
Closed