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Article: How blood tests can obscure the diagnosis
- Article from:
- The Sunday Telegraph London
- Article date:
- March 24, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2002 The Sunday Telegraph London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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There is consolation in knowing that even if your doctor only
requests a blood test to give the appearance of doing something, the
result is likely to be accurate. Indeed, the modern technology of
chemical analysis is so sensitive that it is possible to detect
hundreds of hormones and enzymes circulating in the bloodstream - at
concentrations equivalent to dropping an aspirin tablet into an
Olympic-sized swimming pool.
Still, technology is never faultless, and it will not be
surprising if some tests suggest that there is something wrong when
there is not - or, conversely, that the tests are "normal" even when
there are strong reasons for believing there is something seriously
amiss. But ...