The Role of Laboratory Testing in Disease Diagnosis: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

Modern laboratory medicine plays a crucial role in the diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic monitoring of diseases. Despite the multitude of sophisticated methodologies for the analysis of body fluids and tissues to evaluate their normal and disease states, the laboratory location and organization have changed little over the past fifty years. All of the preanalytical variables, such as patient preparation, collection of the sample, handling, storage, transportation, and preparation for analysis, can directly affect the reliability of the results obtained across all of the various disease types. Guidelines have been produced to harmonize preanalytical requirements and standard operating procedures developed across the world to assist hospital and community staff in achieving the aims of sample quality. With the multiple disciplines under the laboratory umbrella, it is not just the biochemist or medical consultant that needs to be aware of the underlying preanalytical variables, but also the clinician taking the sample, irrespective of their location in the world.