Challenges at the Clinical Interface: Case Histories for Clinical Biochemists

"Individual case reports have always been crucial to understanding of the pathophysiology of many diseases, especially at a fundamental level. Clinical cases also have an important educational role and one that is increasingly seen as a means of imparting the relevance of a clinical subject to students. Indeed, with the emphasis on problem-based learning by many educational authorities, clinical cases provide good examples of how to solve real clinical problems.

I found this excellent book to be very comprehensive and very useful. This book will be of great interest to clinical biochemists, clinicians, medical students, medical technologists, and trainees in laboratory medicine. "
Clinical Chemistry, 48, 12, 2002

A laboratory result is only as good as the understanding of its meaning and the action that is taken upon its receipt. As more and more diagnostic tests become available, the laboratory's role is becoming a provider of knowledge (and interpretation) rather than results. In order to provide this service, laboratory medicine professionals must understand the clinical environment in which they practice. This book of case histories provides a series of holistic overviews of "patient episodes." The cases track experience from the initial presentation through early diagnostic and intervention steps to the final outcome of a diagnostic decision and management strategy. Challenges at the Clinical Interface: Case Histories for Clinical Biochemists is essential reading for all clinical biochemists seeking to develop skills to practice at the clinical interface, and it will help the clinical biochemist to understand the clinical "process" and to appreciate the part that he/she can play in the care of patients.