INVESTIGATIONS

Recent investigations are often useful to guide diagnosis and response to treatment. These usually are either laboratory results or radiological results.

Available Investigations

Look at all available blood results and look at the trends.

Common investigations include (these may vary according to the laboratory):

Full blood count (FBC)

Haemoglobin level, platelets, white cell count

Urea, creatinine and electrolytes (U&Es)

Urea, creatinine, sodium and potassium

Liver function tests (LFTs)

Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), bilirubin, albumin, alkaline phosphatase (ALP)

C reactive protein (CRP)

Other electolytes

Magnesium, phosphate, calcium

Clotting

International normalised ratio (INR), prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), fibrinogen.

Microbiology cultures

Blood, urine, sputum, wound swabs etc

Urinalysis

Visual, chemical and microscopic examination

Radiological reports

Look at all recent imaging. This will give you information on the patients past medical history and any recent problems. Consider what further imaging may be necessary to aid your management of this patient.

If you have an electronic records system you may be able to see previous emergency department attendances, clinic letters, discharge summaries and so on to provide background information.