REVIEW

Best practice in primary care pathology: review 9

W S A Smellie¹, N Shaw², R Bowlees², A Taylor³, R Howell-Jones⁴ and C A M McNulty⁴

¹ Department of Chemical Pathology, Bishop Auckland General Hospital, Cockton Hill Road, Bishop Auckland, County Durham DL14 6AD, UK
² Sowerby Centre for Health Informatics, Bede House, All Saints Business Centre, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 2ES, UK
³ Department of Chemical Pathology, Furness District General Hospital, Dalton Lane, Barrow in Furness, Cumbria LA14 4LF, UK
⁴ Health Protection Agency Primary Care Unit, Department of Microbiology, Gloucester Royal Hospital, Great Western Road, Gloucester GL1 3NN, UK

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
W S A Smellie
Department of Chemical Pathology, Bishop Auckland General Hospital, Cockton Hill Road, Bishop Auckland, County Durham DL14 6AD, UK; info{at}smellie.com

This ninth best-practice review examines two series of common primary care questions in laboratory medicine: (i) potassium abnormalities and (ii) venous leg ulcer microbiology. The review is presented in question-and-answer format, referenced for each question series. The recommendations represent a précis of guidance found using a standardised literature search of national and international guidance notes, consensus statements, health policy documents and evidence-based medicine reviews, supplemented by MEDLINE EMBASE searches to identify relevant primary research documents. They are not standards but form a guide to be set in the clinical context. Most are consensus rather than evidence-based. They will be updated periodically to take account of new information.

Abbreviations: ACTH, adrenocorticotropic hormone; CKD, chronic kidney disease; ECG, electrocardiogram; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; GMS, General Medical Services; HTA, Health Technology Agency

Keywords: best practice; primary care; interdisciplinary; evidence-based medicine

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Saleem, S, Mani, V, Chadwick, M A, Creanor, S, Ayling, R M (2009). A prospective study of causes of haemolysis during venepuncture: tourniquet time should be kept to a minimum. Ann Clin Biochem 46: 244-246 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Smellie, W S A, Vanderpump, M P J, Fraser, W D, Bowley, R, Shaw, N (2008). Best practice in primary care pathology: review 11. J. Clin. Pathol. 61: 410-418 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Smellie, W S. A (2007). Spurious hyperkalaemia. BMJ 334: 693-695 [Full Text]