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Which tests should we order?
What laboratory tests should a mental health clinician order and when?
Clinicians’ guide to screening tests in mental health
What should I be doing to monitor patients who are on an antipsychotic?
What lab tests should we do in patients on divalproex (Depakote)?
Which laboratory tests in persons with first-episode psychosis?
Which laboratory tests in men with erectile dysfunction?
A primer on tests for identifying 2019 novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) infection
Basic Metabolic Panel (BMP, Chem 7)
How to calculate the corrected serum calcium
Metabolic acidosis: A primer
How to monitor for possible metabolic acidosis
What is the anion gap and how can we easily calculate it from the lab results?
Complete Blood Count (CBC)
Why we sometimes specifically order a “CBC with differential”
A primer on the Absolute Neutrophil Count (ANC)
How is beta-thalassemia minor relevant to mental health clinicians?
Electrocardiogram (ECG)
When to do an electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG)
How often should we order ECG (EKG) during treatment with a psychotropic medication?
Iron Studies
Laboratory testing to identify iron deficiency
How to order and interpret iron studies
The FIRST thing you should do if your patient has Restless Legs Syndrome
Kidney (Renal) Function Tests
24-hour urine for creatinine clearance
How to collect a 24-hour urine sample
How to interpret the BUN/Creatinine ratio when you get labs back
What is estimated GFR (eGFR)?
What serum creatinine is and why it is important
Factors that can affect serum creatinine
Can creatine supplements lead to “false” elevation in serum creatinine?
Liver (Hepatic) Function Tests
Tips about Hepatic Function Tests
False positive elevation of plasma ammonia
Valproate (Depakote®) and elevated serum ammonia level (hyperammonemia)
Elevated alkaline phosphatase
Neuroimaging
Pharmacogenetic testing
Serotonin transporter promoter region
Serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR)
5-HTTLPR and efficacy of antidepressants
5-HTTLPR and adverse effects of antidepressants
5-HTTLPR and antidepressant-induced mania
Serotonergic receptors
Serotonin 2A receptor gene (HTR2A) polymorphisms and adverse effects
HTR2C polymorphisms and medication-induced weight gain
Blood-brain barrier/ P-glycoprotein
Cytochrome P450 enzymes
HLA gene testing
Melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R)
Commercially-available pharmacogenomic tests
(listed alphabetically)
CNSDose® (CNSDose, LLC)
Genecept assay® (Genomind, LLC)
GeneSight® pharmacogenomic test batteries (Assurex Health)
Commercially available pharmacogenomic test panels
Miscellaneous
Serum levels of medications
When to measure serum levels of mood stabilizers
Lamotrigine level and adverse effects
What is the optimal serum valproic acid (valproate) level?
Thyroid Function Tests
Urine Drug Screening
Which urine drug screen do most workplaces require?
False-positive urine drug screen: Principles and a table for reference
Opioids in the urine drug screen
Standard urine drug screens can be false-negative for some benzodiazepines
Will zolpidem be detected on a standard urine drug screen?
For how long are substances detected in a urine drug screen (UDS)?
“Fingerprint” metabolites that uniquely identify substances in a urine drug screen
Abstinence from alcohol can be monitored by a urine screening test
Vitamin levels
Serum folate is not the right test to order
Elevated vitamin B12 levels are common and could be very serious
Miscellaneous
The 12 sins in laboratory testing in mental health
Is it essential to be fasting for lab tests?
ICD-10 diagnostic codes for laboratory tests
A primer on C-reactive protein
C-reactive protein and mental disorders
How to measure and interpret serum prolactin
Elevated alkaline phosphatase
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Can you comment on lab tests to measure inflammation: C-reactive protein (CRP) and other lab markers?