Chapter 20: Diagnostic investigations
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Source: Adapted from NHS Pathology ([101]), WHO ([171]).
Evidence‐based approaches
Rationale
Diagnostic tests and investigations are essential in cancer care, however their selection and use must be considered carefully. The overuse of diagnostic tests is a contributor to needless healthcare costs. This leads to poor quality services and continuing financial pressure on departments and organizations (Korenstein et al. [85]), hence it is essential that healthcare providers and professionals ensure that the tests used are of adequate benefit to the patient's health (Qaseem et al. [123]).
Indications
Conducting a diagnostic test or collecting a specimen is often the first crucial step in determining diagnosis and subsequent mode of treatment for patients with suspected infections or to aid in the diagnosis of specific conditions. In other aspects the collection or test may help determine variation from normal values such as blood sampling or endoscopic findings (Box 20.1).
Box 20.1
Good practice in specimen collection
- Appropriate to the patient's clinical presentation.
- Collected at the right time.
- Collected in a way that minimizes the risk of contamination.
- Collected in a manner that minimizes the health and safety risk to all staff handling the sample.
- Collected using the correct technique, with the correct equipment and in the correct container.
- Documented clearly, informatively and accurately on the request forms.
- Stored/transported appropriately.
