The Importance of Blood Analysis in Medical Lab Technician Profession

---

Each patient who comes into a healthcare facility has individual needs and assessments. The human being is created with a special fluid (blood) that tells the patient’s secrets that even he or she doesn’t know he or she has. This is why there are professionals like medical lab technicians to perform blood analysis.

Submitting lab results to the patient’s provider is one of the first and most important aspects of treatment. Physicians write orders for specific types of tests that will be needed to come to conclusion for treatment’s sake. Usually, a phlebotomist will draw the blood as part of normal rounds or initial assessment, so a baseline can be established and treatment and diagnosis will progress from there. Different tubes and collection systems are used for different types of testing.

For the medical lab technician, there are certain criteria that must be followed when collecting and analyzing blood samples. Making sure the collection tubes do not get mixed up with regard to labels, which is extremely important. Patient information is also confidential and lab results should not be discussed unless there is a “need to know” for communication.

Chemistry Panel and Complete Blood Count

This panel provides a large amount of information that can tell the physician quite a bit about the patient in an incredibly short time. Total cholesterol, including HDL (high-density lipoprotein), LDL (low-density lipoprotein), triglycerides and cholesterol ratios are also revealed in this type of testing. Blood sugar, BUN, Creatinine, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), bilirubin, and ph levels are indicative of routine labs that are drawn with this panel. Blood cell status is also established on record including white blood cell counts, red blood cell counts, quality of platelets, concentration, and percentage of particular types of cells.

Fibrinogen

This test would show any problems with the patients clotting factors. The medical lab technician should pay particular attention to these values since they may be in an emergent zone, which means the physician may need to be contacted immediately.

Hemoglobin

Hemoglobin is indicative of how much oxygen is actually in the blood. Patients may be lethargic and have dull headache chronically. If the hemoglobin is too high, there may be need to do some lifestyle change in order to get it back into normal limits.

Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH)

Hypothyroidism: TSH levels above normal indicate hypothyroidism (low thyroid activity). Low thyroid function is associated with reversible hypercholesterolemia (high blood cholesterol) and cognitive dysfunction, as well as nonspecific symptoms such as fatigue, depression, cold intolerance, dry skin, constipation, and weight gain.

Hyperthyroidism: Below normal TSH levels indicate hyperthyroidism (increased thyroid activity). Increased thyroid function is associated with atrial fibrillation (a disturbance of heart rhythm), reduced bone mineral density, and nonspecific symptoms such as fatigue, weight loss, heat intolerance, nervousness, insomnia, muscle weakness, shortness of breath, and heart palpitations.

Blood analysis is one of the most important ways of testing the inside of a person’s body. The medical lab technician is instrumental in diagnosis and treatment of all body systems and diseases. They work diligently to return information, so treatment plans and quick decisions can be made to improve quality of health and save lives of many people.