Description

In this issue of CPD Bulletin in Clinical Biochemistry we have three articles of interest to Clinical Biochemists. Requests for thyroid function tests have been steadily increasing, both from hospital patients and from patients in the community. There is reason to believe that thyroid disease is common and it can go undetected. Some associations such as the American Association of Thyroid recommend screening the general population. When thyroid function tests are done in patients with few symptoms, subtle abnormalities in thyroid function may be detected. One such abnormality is raised TSH with thyroxine and triiodothyronine within the reference range. This is described as sub clinical hypothyroidism. In the first article in this issue Drs Adrees and Boran discuss the causes, prevalence, clinical importance and treatment of sub clinical hypothyroidism.

Another disease which is discovered very often on routine blood tests is primary hyperparathyroidism. Many patients with primary hyperparathyroidism are asymptomatic. There is debate as to how to treat these patients. In the second article Drs Hannan and Fairney discuss the pathogenesis of primary hyperparathyroidism, biochemical and skeletal consequences and the management of these patients.

Biomedical literature is expanding exponentially. As clinical biochemists we are often asked questions which require search of the literature. Ability to search the literature quickly and efficiently is essential in order to answer these questions. In the third article in this issue Dr Avenell and Sheila Wallace explain what data bases are available and how they can be searched. The use of operator terms is explained and an example of a search is given to show how this will work in practice.

Finally, we would like to invite readers to submit interesting case reports that have a particular educational message. The Bulletin will become more lively and interesting with more contribution from readers.