Interpretative commenting in clinical chemistry with worked examples for thyroid function test reports

Abstract

Correct interpretation of pathology results is a requirement for accurate diagnosis and appropriate patient management. Clinical Pathologists and Scientists are increasingly focusing on providing quality interpretative comments on their reports and these comments are appreciated by clinicians who receive them. Interpretative comments may improve patient outcomes by helping reduce errors in application of the results in patient management. Thyroid function test (TFT) results are one of the areas in clinical chemistry where interpretative commenting is practised by clinical laboratories. We have provided a series of TFT reports together with possible interpretative comments and a brief explanation of the comments. It is felt that this would be of help in setting up an interpretative service for TFTs and also assist in training and continuing education in their provision.

Keywords

• Interpretative commenting
• Thyroid function tests
• Free thyroxine
• Thyroid stimulating hormone
• Thyrotoxicosis
• Hypothyroidism