[Rational use of measurements and observations in clinical laboratory diagnosis]

Clinical chemistry possesses sufficient methodologies to ensure a fast transition between research and potential usefulness of measurements to be used in diagnosis. This is the case with future methods, such as DNA and RNA assays. The major challenge for the future is to develop methods that can ensure clinical performance and clinical efficacy of measurements potentially useful for the diagnosis, so as to select the still useful routine methods and refuse from the irrational ones.