Blood work

Blood work - HE comes early in the morning, right on time, at 7am, with his little trolley filled with the tools of his trade. Then he proceeds to methodically extract blood from warm, living bodies, carefully making sure that he doesn’t inflict unnecessary pain on his ‘victims’.

This is real life, not reel life. Its’s not Bill Compton in True Blood supplementing his food source, but a young doctor doing the rounds, checking his patients.

The blood that is taken will be sent to the lab for analysis, and the patient’s condition assessed once the test results are out.

To some, it’s a daily ordeal, especially those with serious conditions. For others, it might be one test before admission, and one before discharge.

C-reactive protein is an indicator of inflammation in the body. Elevated levels may indicate inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, or vasculitis

Blood tests are part and parcel of daily living for many patients who’re in hospital, especially those with serious conditions. But for those lucky ones on the other side of the fence, what part do blood tests play in our lives?

Safeguarding health

According to medical practitioner Dr C.S. Foo, blood tests have a role in safeguarding health, especially those living with chronic conditions.

“Take the example of a person with high cholesterol. I would do a blood test every three or six months to check his progress. Otherwise, it’s an annual check-up to make sure that everything is fine,” he observes.

Blood tests are but one of the many tools that doctors use to help them with their work. As Dr Foo observes, it’s but one small part of the process.

“The doctor needs to take a full history and carry out a thorough physical examination on the patient. Based on what he finds, then other tests could be indicated if he suspects something amiss,” he explains. “It could be just a blood test, or there may be a need for scans and other tests.”

Blood tests are very common aspects of a doctor’s work. They help doctors check for certain diseases, and they are useful to assess the progress of the disease, as well as treatment effectiveness.

Some of the common blood tests include a full blood count, blood chemistry tests, blood metabolic profile, and even cancer markers.

“A full blood count is useful to detect many conditions, such as thalassaemia and bone marrow problems. This is the haematological component of the test.

“Then there’s the lipid profile. I do tend to look at triglyceride levels, what with the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome these days. (This is generally defined as disturbed lipid levels, central obesity, high blood pressure, abnormal glucose levels. The definition differs, depending on which authority you’re referring to.)

“Liver function tests are useful, and in my case, I usually look for fatty liver disease when I order it for some of my patients,” explains Dr Foo.

“HbA1C is important, especially with the prevalence of diabetes these days. It’s an indicator of a person’s average glucose levels for the past two to three months, and can help identify those who have pre-diabetes,” he adds.

The blood reveals many secrets of the human body, and as such, blood tests have remained important tools of the medical trade. It says much that the basic form of the test hasn’t changed for the past 20 years or so, though new elements have been added in.

“These days, we can also look at homocysteine and C-reactive protein, indicators of inflammation in the body,” notes Dr Foo.

According to Dr Foo, some cancer markers may be useful, especially if the person is older and has a family history of certain cancers. “These may make us more careful, and we may check accordingly,” remarks Dr Foo.

In general, most blood tests do not require any special preparation, and the whole process should take only a few minutes. There are, however, some tests that may require advanced preparation. For example, fasting blood glucose requires fasting (about eight to 12 hours before the test).

And really, having your blood taken is not such a painful process, so long as the person taking it is experienced at it.

Test results can be obtained anywhere from a few minutes to a few weeks, depending on what you’re being tested for.

When in doubt, ask

There have been many reports of unnecessary tests being carried out on patients. It’s important for patients to ask their doctors why such tests are being done.

After all, it’s your body that’s being poked and prodded, and you have the right to know why.

Dr Foo advises: “It’s no use having a blood test if you do not know what it’s being done for. And once you get the results, you should be seeking the advice of your doctor as to what you should do next.”

Yes, otherwise, it’s just a bunch of abbreviations and numbers attached to them, without any meaning at all to the average man or woman.

In general, Dr Foo recommends an annual blood test for adults, just to make sure that everything is fine.

At the end of the day, blood work may make many of us uncomfortable, but if it helps us keep healthy, it’s a discomfort that we should be able to put up with. After all, it’s only once a year ... we hope. ( thestar.com.my )