PHYSICIANS REFERENCE LABORATORY
ANATOMIC PATHOLOGY | MOLECULAR PATHOLOGY | CYTOLOGY | TOXICOLOGY
PAIN MED |
CLINICAL LABORATORY TESTING | TEST RESULTS
SPECIMEN REQUIREMENTS | PATIENT CARE SERVICES | SERVICE CENTERS
PATIENT INFORMATION (KCFIT.NET)
CLA: GENERAL HEALTH SCREEN
How healthy are you? Beyond a general answer like “good”, “so-so” or “not-so-good”, it can be difficult to be specific. Physicians Reference Laboratory (PRL) offers a group of tests called the General Health Screen that gives you some concrete evidence that can help you decide how healthy you really are. PRL offers several thousand tests to measure all kinds of bodily functions, but we have selected a few that can provide early warnings for a large variety of malfunctions while they are minor. Below are listed the tests in this Screen, plus a few words about what they measure and why they are included:
COMPLETE BLOOD COUNT WITH WHITE BLOOC CELL DIFFERENTIAL COUNT (CBC w/diff)
This group of tests evaluates the cells that are normally in the blood, including red blood cells (RBCs) for anemias, the various types of white blood cells (WBCs) for infections, allergies, etc., and little cell fragments called platelets for blood clotting. The RBCs carry oxygen and carbon dioxide to and from the cells of the body. There are multiple types of white blood cells, each of which has a different function (therefore the “differential” count to determine how many of what kind). As mentioned above, platelets are tiny fragments of large cells in the bone marrow, these fragments being very important in the blood clotting process.
URINALYSIS
The Urinalysis measures the presence and amount of a number of chemicals in the urine, which reflect much about the health of the kidneys, along with cells that may be present in the urine (for example RBCs, WBCs, or groups of these called “casts”). Also, the lab looks for crystals, bacteria, and other organisms in the urinary sediment.
BASIC METABOLIC PANEL (BMP)
This panel measure several chemicals and groups of chemicals in the blood, including sodium, potassium, chloride, CO2, glucose (sugar), calcium, phosphorus, blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine.
Sodium, potassium, chloride, and CO2 tell doctors much, but generally, they tell us more about how the kidneys are functioning, affects of drugs, tissue cell function and electrical conduction across cell membranes, blood acid-base balance, and even a little about how the lungs are working in respiration.
Glucose or sugar is normally present in the blood and is essential for life. It is the prime carrier of immediate energy for the tissue cells. If it is present in the blood in excessive amounts over an extended period of time or if the tissue cells are resistant to allowing insulin (a hormone from the pancreas gland) to help the cells use the glucose, then the condition is called diabetes mellitus (or simply “diabetes”)
Calcium is also necessary in the blood to remain alive. Its presence is very important for a wide variety of chemical reactions and for electrical connections, particularly in muscle cells. Phosphorus is bound to oxygen in the blood and generally acts as a balance for calcium, along with many functions in chemical reactions. Their blood levels are very closely controlled by the parathyroid glands, four tiny pieces of brown tissue that lie under the thyroid gland in the neck, with help from the kidneys.
Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine are chemicals that result from cellular metabolism and are excreted into the urine by the kidneys. If the kidneys are not functioning properly, then these chemicals build up in the blood. The ratio of the two chemicals helps doctors to determine whether or not the problem is primarily in the kidneys.
Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) is made in the front part of the pituitary gland, a pea sized gland at the base of the brain. A chemical (called a “releasing factor”) coming from the adjacent brain “tells” the pituitary gland to release TSH, which in turn tells the thyroid gland in the neck to make more thyroxin, another hormone that is essential for life. As the thyroxin rises and later falls, the brain senses the lower level and sends more releasing factor to the pituitary gland to start the process all again. Measuring the blood TSH level is a very sensitive way to evaluate the above process. If it is abnormal, then other tests will tell what is the exact problem.
Occult (hidden) blood in the stool (fecal material from the intestines) is abnormal, but commonly does not indicate something serious. It can, however, be the harbinger of cancer of the lower intestine (colon) or rectum. Beginning at age 45, it is very important to check it so that, if blood is present, you can deal with it early when these cancers are frequently curable.
The prostate gland in males is part of the sexual organs at the base of the penis. Cancer develops in the prostate gland commonly as men age. The good news is that if caught early, prostate cancer is frequently curable. The secret is early detection, consisting of a rectal exam by a doctor and a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test. PSA is a chemical found in elevated amounts in the blood when prostate cancer is present. If cancer is found on further testing, after therapy, the PSA test is also a sensitive way to maintain peace of mind that it has not recurred.