What labs do we order for suspected HIV infection? What is the difference between p24 antigen/HIV antibody testing vs. HIV PCR? Let’s answer these questions and more, to boost your confidence when working up this diagnosis.

Read time: 5-6 minutes

Lyme Disease is a tricky diagnosis - and labs are not straight forward! Read this step-by-step guide to boost your confidence when considering Lyme serology.

Read time: 5-6 minutes

Erectile dysfunction is a common primary health care presentation. This question commonly gets brought up: Should we routinely order total testosterone for this condition?

Let’s get into it!

Read time: 5-6 minutes

Urine Toxicology Screen: How Useful is it?

This test can be used for a range of purposes, such as detecting drug use, monitoring treatment for substance use, or in certain legal contexts - but we need to be careful how we interpret results.

Read time: 5-6 minutes

We cover all things iron deficiency anemia—definitions, key lab interpretations, and must-know differentials. As one of the most common primary care presentations, it’s essential to feel confident managing it!

Read time: 6-7 minutes

Unexplained fatigue, weight loss, or recurrent infections? Serum Protein Electrophoresis (SPEP) could be the key to uncovering serious conditions like multiple myeloma, chronic infections, or autoimmune diseases.

But when should we order it, and how do we interpret tricky results of SPEP?

This article simplifies SPEP, breaks down immunofixation and immunofluorescence, and provides a practical roadmap for us to make informed, evidence-based decisions in primary care.

We work through the evaluation of mild ALT elevation in asymptomatic adults in primary care by tackling these commonly asked questions:

1. What differential diagnoses should we consider with mildly elevated ALT?

2. How do we diagnose metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease?

3. How do we estimate risk of liver fibrosis using the FIB-4 score? What lab tests and diagnostic imaging should we consider?

We answer these common questions and more!

Read time: 6-7 minutes

We review diagnostic pearls for thalassemia, including use of the CBC, iron studies, peripheral blood smear, and hemoglobin electrophoresis

Read time: 6-7 minutes

We review the utility of ESR and CRP as inflammatory markers when evaluating patients for suspected inflammatory or infectious disease processes.

Read time: 6-7 minutes

We review the utility of serum TSH, free T4, free T3, and when to order thyroid antibody testing (hint - almost never!)

We review how lab reference ranges are established, the limitations of lab reference ranges, and tips for dealing with lab results that do not correlate clinically.