hemoglobin A Low hemoglobin level indicates anemia.

Estimates of Hgb in each RBC are moderately important when determining the total blood Hgb. However, hemoglobin findings are even more dependent upon the total number of RBC's. In other words, for the diagnosis of anemia, the number of RBC's is as important as the hemoglobin level. Blood hemoglobin level has become a "routine" lab test for most patients admitted to hospitals today. Hgb is obviously important for the diagnosis of anemia and hemorrhage. It is equally important for diagnosing many lesser known diseases. The test can be performed upon capillary blood, such as drawn from the finger stick. The test is often performed along with other tests, thereby requiring a larger specimen of blood, as from venipuncture. Hemoglobin in the body is dependent upon amounts of iron. A lack of available iron causes one type of anemia, due to the reduced production of hemoglobin. Remember that in the strictest sense, anemia is not in itself a diagnosis, but rather a symptom that there is something else wrong in the body. For example, malnutrition (low iron levels),

WBC

What Abnormal Results Mean

A positive test means you have inflammation in the body. This may be due to a variety of different conditions, including:

Cancer Connective tissue disease Heart attack Infection Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) Lupus Pneumococcal pneumonia Rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatic fever Tuberculosis

would be the diagnosis of the patient, not just the anemia. The secondary diagnosis would be anemia, but malnutrition must be treated in order to "cure" the anemia.

Potassium

Marked alteration occur in many disease states and may cause disturbance in heart function. Potassium quantities must be in balance with sodium quantities..

Total protein Decreased amount are seen in debilitated state in chronic illness

1. What is tuberculosis and why is it a concern?

TB can be treated with antibiotics. Source: TB Global drug Facility

Tuberculosis (TB) is a pulmonary bacterial infectious disease that spreads through the air. When people who are sick with TB in their lungs cough, sneeze, talk or spit, they propel TB germs into the air, and a person needs only to breathe in a small number of these to be infected. Overall, one-third of the world's population is currently infected with the TB bacillus, the bacterium that causes tuberculosis. However, most of these people infected with TB will never become sick or infectious as their immune system keeps the infection in check. People with a weakened immune system have a greater chance of becoming sick with tuberculosis, particularly if they are also infected with HIV. TB is one of the major causes of death in people who are HIV-positive, and HIV is the most important factor responsible for the rise of TB in Africa since 1990. The proportion of people in the general population who become sick with tuberculosis each year is stable or falling worldwide but, because of population growth, the absolute number of new cases is still increasing. In 2005, South-East Asia had the largest number of new cases but the highest proportion of new cases and TB-related deaths was found among the African population. About 1.6 million people worldwide died from tuberculosis that year. Although antibiotics to cure TB have only been available for the past 50 years, forms of tuberculosis that are resistant to the major anti-TB drugs have emerged worldwide. Drugresistant tuberculosis is caused by inconsistent or incomplete treatment, when doctors prescribe the wrong treatment or when patients do not take all their medicines regularly for the required period.

Tuberculosis classification system

The current clinical classification system for tuberculosis (TB) is based on the pathogenesis of the disease. [1] Health care providers should comply with local laws and regulations requiring the reporting of TB. All persons with class 3 or class 5 TB should be reported promptly to the local health department. See list of notifiable diseases. Classification System for TB Class 0 Type No TB exposure Not infected TB exposure No evidence of infection TB infection No disease Description No history of exposure Negative reaction to tuberculin skin test History of exposure Negative reaction to tuberculin skin test Positive reaction to tuberculin skin test Negative bacteriologic studies (if done) No clinical, bacteriologic, or radiographic evidence of TB M. tuberculosis cultured (if done) Clinical, bacteriologic, or radiographic evidence of current disease History of episode(s) of TB or Abnormal but stable radiographic findings Positive reaction to the tuberculin skin test Negative bacteriologic studies (if done) and No clinical or radiographic evidence of current disease Diagnosis pending TB disease should be ruled in or out within 3 months

TB, clinically active

TB Not clinically active

TB suspect

[edit]CDC

TB classification for immigrants and refugees

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has an additional TB classification for immigrants and refugees developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).[2] The B notification program is an important screening strategy to identify new arrivals who have a high risk for TB.[3] United States Immigrant/Refugee TB Classification - revised 2009 No TB Classification (Normal) Class A TB with waiver, infectious Class B1 TB, Pulmonary Class B1 TB, Extrapulmonary

Class B2 TB Latent TB Infection (LTBI) Evaluation Class B3 TB, Contact Evaluation