Abstract

Basic Skills in Interpreting Laboratory Data continues to be the most popular teaching text on laboratory data for pharmacy students as well as the go-to reference for pharmacists in therapeutic practice. Now in its sixth edition, Basic Skills has been expanded and updated to cover new drugs, research, and therapeutic approaches.

Edited by Mary Lee, Pharm.D., BCPS, FCCP, the sixth edition is a comprehensive, in-depth guide to all aspects of lab work that apply to clinical practice. Written by 40 established clinicians and pharmacy faculty members and reviewed by additional experts, it is designed to make all information clear and quickly accessible. Minicases provide clinical scenarios for using tests and managing patients, and quickview charts throughout offer clear interpretations of lab results.

New to this edition:

• A new chapter on point-of-care testing
• New materials on male infertility workups
• Data on pharmacogenomics testing for neuropsychiatric drugs
• At least one new case and new learning points for almost all chapters
• New discussions in many chapters, including for C-reactive protein, antiglycan antibody and lactoferrin, antithroglobulin antibody, and cryoglobulin, and more.
• 23 chapters are now divided into three sections: Basic Concepts and Test Interpretations, System Disorders and Diagnostic Tests, and Tests for Special Populations.

Complex but critical skills are required for clinical pharmacists to effectively use lab data in screening for or diagnosing diseases and in monitoring the safety and effectiveness of treatment.  As the only book of its kind specifically written for pharmacists by pharmacists, Basic Skills makes palce
it easier to make accurate and critical decisions based on laboratory data.

Preface
The last four editions of Basic Skills in Interpreting Laboratory Data have been made possible by the dedicated chapter authors, reviewers, and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists publication division. It has been my honor to serve as the editor and to work with this team.
For this sixth edition, approximately 90% of the lead authors have served in this capacity for the earlier editions of Basic Skills. However, Paul O. Gubbins, PharmD and Heather Lyons-Burney, Pharm.D. joined as the lead authors of a new chapter on Point-of-Care Testing, and Nicholas Moore, MS, MLS (ASCP) updated the chapter on Laboratory Assays and Technology. All of the lead authors are established clinicians and/or experienced faculty at colleges of pharmacy; none are residents or pharmacy students. We think that this enhances the quality of the chapter content.
A whole new group of reviewers have joined this project; many of them are board-certified or established experts in their field. Their knowledge in their specialty areas of practice and their scrutiny of the chapter content has helped ensure that each chapter is up-to-date and that the content is relevant to clinical practice.
As you use this book, you will find that the sixth edition includes updated chapter content with references; almost all of the chapters have at least one new case (and sometimes more) and at least one new learning point. The glossary in the back of the book and the list of abbreviations in the front are expanded to enhance the convenience of using this book for the readers.
 A sampling of some significant and notable new content include the following:

1. Hematology—Blood Coagulation Tests: expanded sections on laboratory tests to monitor direct thrombin inhibitors, direct oral anticoagulants, and low molecular weight heparin.
2. Hematology—Red and White Blood Cell Tests: discussion of cell types, associated cluster of differentiation epitopes or targets, and FDA-approved targeted therapies.
3. Infectious Diseases: expanded section on molecular diagnosis of specific virus’s nucleic acids and 1,3-β-glucan detection of fungi.
4. Liver and Gastroenterology Tests: addition of a new section on laboratory tests to diagnosis and monitor hemochromatosis.
5. Interpretation of Serum Drug Concentrations: addition of new medications that have become commercially available.
6. Men’s Health: expanded section on PSA testing for screening, staging, and monitoring treatment of prostate cancer.

Here are some suggestions to use this book efficiently:

• For a general overview of the laboratory tests for various organ systems or for various types of diseases, use the table of contents to identify the most appropriate section or chapter(s). The chapters are grouped into three major sections: Basic Concepts and Test Interpretations, System Disorders and Diagnostic Tests, and Tests for Special Populations. By reading the section or a chapter from start to finish, you can get a detailed summary of the laboratory tests used to evaluate that organ system or disease, why the test is used, what a normal value range is for the test, and how to interpret an abnormal laboratory test result. Minicases guide the reader on common clinical scenarios about ordering appropriate laboratory tests, interpreting results, managing patients, and addressing spurious laboratory tests. Learning points conclude each chapter and highlight key concepts about using the laboratory tests. Using the book in this way will be most useful if the book is used as a companion to a disease state management or pharmacotherapeutics course, or to a course that prepares students for full time clinical rotations.
• For information on a specific laboratory test, use the alphabetical index to locate the test, and then go to that specific page(s) to get the focused information that you need. The section will usually discuss the purpose of the test, how the test result relates to the pathophysiology of a disease or the physiologic function of a cell or organ, the normal range for the test, causes for an abnormal test result, and causes of false positive or false negative results. This approach will be most useful in the clinical management of a patient.
• For some of the most common laboratory tests, quick view charts are provided. These are standardized template presentations of information about a laboratory test that allow the reader the quickly learn about a particular laboratory test: what is the test used for, what is a normal result, what causes an abnormal result. Again, this approach will be most useful in the clinical management of a patient; however, it should be noted that the quick view content should always be supplemented with the more in-depth information in the chapter on a particular laboratory test. This text does not provide quick view charts for all the laboratory tests discussed in the text. If the reader is interested in this type of data presentation, many other clinical laboratory test handbooks, including ASHP’s Interpreting Laboratory Data: a Point of Care Guide, are available as alternative options.

Mary Lee, Pharm.D, BCPS, FCCP

Mary Lee, Pharm.D, BCPS, FCCP, is Vice President, Chief Academic Officer for Pharmacy and Health Sciences Education, Midwestern University, and Professor of Pharmacy Practice, Chicago College of Pharmacy. Dr. Lee graduated with BS in Pharmacy and Doctor of Pharmacy degrees from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science in 1976 and 1979, respectively, and completed a residency at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in 1977. She joined the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy in 1979, where she served as Director of the Drug Information Center and then clinical pharmacist to the urological surgery service at the hospital. In 1985, she was promoted to Associate Professor and from 1985-1990, she served as Assistant Dean of Student Affairs. In 1994, she became Associate Dean of Midwestern University Chicago College of Pharmacy; and in 1998, she was appointed Dean. She served as Dean of the College from 1998 through 2006.

Dr. Lee has published over 100 research manuscripts, book chapters, review articles, and short reports in peer-reviewed publications. She has served as an elected officer on the American College of Clinical Pharmacy Board of Regents, chair of the Clinical Section, American Pharmaceutical Association, Academy of Pharmaceutical Research and Science, and as chair or member of numerous committees of APhA, ACCP, and state pharmacy associations. She is considered an expert on pharmacological issues in urological diseases, has earned board certification in pharmacotherapy, has won numerous teaching awards, and received the 2010 Illinois Council of Health System Pharmacists Pharmacist of the Year Award.