Shaw's clinical laboratory tests more than blood

Published June 22, 2006
By Tarsha Storey
20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. -- Collecting, testing and analyzing specimen samples are a way of life for the fourteen member team in the 20th Medical Support Squadron’s Clinical Laboratory Services Element.

Each duty day begins with quality control testing to ensure all analyzers are functioning properly, said Senior Airman David Testerman, 20th MDSS medical laboratory technician.

The job of the laboratory is to analyze various bodily fluids, such as blood and urine, and provide the results to the requesting healthcare provider, said Capt. Fe Lobo-Menendez, 20th MDSS Clinical Laboratory Services Element chief.

“We do more than draw blood. Most of our work is spent analyzing the body fluids we work with,” she said.

During the course of a medical visit, a healthcare provider may determine a laboratory test is necessary and he or she will order one. When the healthcare provider has put in the order for a test, the patient will go to the laboratory where the technician verifies the order. Upon verification, the proper labels for the specimen will be generated. The next step is for the technician to collect the sample. After the sample is collected, it will be taken to the laboratory testing area where it will be analyzed for the ordered tests, Capt. Lobo-Menendez said.

Once the testing is complete, and the results certified, the results will be entered into the computer so the doctor can view them as needed. A laboratory technician will contact the healthcare provider in the case of a critical result. A critical result would be considered anything that needs to be cared for immediately, Capt. Lobo-Menendez said.
Some tests are used to determine whether an infection is bacterial or viral, others are used to determine pregnancy or fertility, still others can determine factors such as blood alcohol content, Capt. Lobo-Menendez said.

If a bacterial or viral infection is present, the laboratory will test for susceptibility to current antibiotics. This will help the healthcare provider determine what antibiotic will be more efficient in treating the infection, she said.

In the case of blood alcohol content, Capt. Lobo-Menendez said if a member is suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol and refuses to take a breathalyzer test, security forces members will bring the member in for testing.

Prior to deployment and after deployment, members may need some laboratory tests. A mandatory HIV test is conducted once every two years to ensure military members are deployment ready, she said.

In all cases of laboratory work, everything is calibrated and tested on a regular basis, Capt. Lobo-Menendez said.

“The College of American Pathologists accredited our laboratory in December 2005, finding no discrepancies and demonstrating that our testing is performed according to a national standard,” she said.

As part of the CAP accreditation, CAP sends each laboratory blind samples from every category tested by that particular lab. The laboratory technicians test the samples as routine patient samples and return the results to CAP. When CAP receives the results, they compare them with those of other laboratories. All results must be within a CAP determined standard range. This ensures the laboratory is providing accurate and concise test results, said Capt. Lobo-Menendez.