An unconscious hypothermic (core temp 31'C) 28y old women was recently
admitted through casualty at 6.0 PM on a Saturday evening.
Urgent investigations were requested (U&E, Glucose, Amylase, CK, LFT
Salicylate & paracetamol & thyroid function tests).
The casualty consultant insisted that the TFT's were done urgently
that evening, as myxoedema could not be excluded as a contributing
cause to her hypothermia. Was the urgency of this request reasonable,
or could the TFT's have been left until Sunday morning or even Monday?
I would be interested to know how other laboratories would approach
this scenario. We did the TFT's that evening.
John Tovey
Nevill Hall Hospital
Abergavenny
email: [log in to unmask]
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