Lab errors

[Guest guest]

I was very interested to read someone's posting, that in

laboratories, there is a margin of error for blood tests. People do

make mistakes, wherever we are. This individual has worked in labs,

and knows this. I get lab tests done every couple months (CD4's,

etc.), and place far too much value in them--although I know they do

not reflect health standing in every sense. Over the last six

months, my CD4's have risen relatively well, then fallen, then risen,

then fallen. I have wondered about sending my blood sample to 2

different labs to compare results, or sending blood under another

name. Here, lab tests are used to pressure people into taking very

toxic drugs, and so I have limited trust that the tests can be relied

on completely. Those who have worked in labs: Please tell me what a

typical margin of error might be. I get worked up over even 20

points change in my numbers. Thanks! Steve

[Guest guest]

When lab tests are done, chemicals need to be

measured, there can be traces of solvent or impurities

on the glassware, slight variables in concentrations

of reactants, etc, which result in a lab result which

is more or less accurate.

Test results should never be taken as the gospel

truth. A lab should be able to give your an idea of

the range of error for a particular test. Given the

level of dishonesty in medicine, I would question

anything I was told and investigate further.

 

As for identifying cancer, remember the terrorist

suspect whose fingerprints were positively matched to

ones found in Spain? Turns out " positive match " means

a certain number of points on the prints match. Our

crime lab had relied on far too few of these

identifying features matching and was helped to

understand this by the Spanish investigators. Who

knows what a positive match for identifying " cancer "

would be.

 

Most doctors don't even question lab results and put

full faith in their being accurate and reliable. I

guess that is because they have never worked in a

biomedical lab.