[The appropriateness of using the essential laboratory tests in a daily primary medical care]

The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical value on chemistry tests when we could eliminate panel of tests to be ordered. We adopted the questionnaire assessment method for getting feedback how attending physicians of the national university hospital were using the multiple laboratory tests for their daily primary medical care. Five kind of commonly ordered serum chemistry tests; total profile (1), 8 test items, total profile (2), 16 test items; pre-operation panel, 21 test items, revised total profile menus, 10 items and revised pre-operation panel, 14 items were reviewed by 134 physicians. Revised total profile menus which includes test items basically proposed by "the Essential Laboratory Tests in a daily primary medical care, The Japan Society of Clinical Pathology", has been found to be a useful disease-finding tool with acceptable costs in a national university hospital budget setting. However, it was suggested that the spectrum of detectable disorders could be broaden by adding few more test items such as CRP, glucose, Na, Cl and potassium in the proposed test menus.