Providing essential information for medical decisions
Clinical diagnostics provide an essential aid to the physician for the diagnosis and monitoring of numerous pathologies and infectious diseases.
A biological sample is taken from the patient, most often at the request of a physician. It is then sent to a hospital-based or private medical laboratory for analysis using reagents and instrument developed by the in vitro diagnostic (IVD) industry. A wide range of increasingly sophisticated diagnostic tests exist, and are used: - for systematic screening of certain populations,
- to establish or confirm a diagnosis for a person presenting with clinical symptoms,
- to determine appropriate treatment and monitor its efficacy.
Below are examples of areas in which in vitro diagnostics can be applied to the clinical sector: - Infectious diseases, caused by an external microorganism (bacterium, virus or parasite …). The laboratory analyses the biological samples (urine, blood, sputum, pus, cerebrospinal fluid, etc.) to detect either the microorganism directly, or a trace of its presence (immunological tests). The biology laboratory therefore plays a major role in the diagnosis of bacterial infections, such as urinary infections, septicemia, the detection and monitoring of antibiotic resistance, or the monitoring of nosocomial (hospital-acquired) infections, etc. Immunological tests, and more recently, molecular biology techniques enable the diagnosis and monitoring of viral infections, such as HIV, hepatitis, and certain infections affecting pregnant women.
- cardiovascular pathologies are linked to the heart or blood vessels. Among these cardiac pathologies, biological diagnostics can be used to diagnose a myocardial infarction (heart attack), through the detection of cardiac markers, which indicate the destruction of myocardial cells. Venous thrombosis, a frequent and potentially dangerous pathology can lead to phlebitis in the lower limbs and can be complicated by pulmonary embolism: in this case, the biological diagnosis can provide essential information by enabling the detection of substances release by the clot formation.
- cancers are caused by the uncontrollable multiplication of abnormal cells. These cells bring abnormal antigens to their surface, or release abnormal substances into the bloodstream. The detection and/or measurement of these antigens or substances (known as tumor markers) is an important part of the diagnosis and monitoring of a wide range of cancers.
Clinical diagnostics can also make a significant contribution in many other medical fields (metabolic diseases, allergies, hormone disorders, hematology, etc.).
|