Welcome to AMA episode 2.
In this episode, Dicken and Beth Ellen answer a number of questions submitted by the ODX software users including looking at guidelines about how long a patient should stop supplementation prior to re-testing, the rationale behind WBC % reading in relation to WBC absolutes, weird prolactin units, GlycA as an inflammatory biomarker, and what are some of the other reasons for an elevated RBC, HCT, and HGB other than dehydration.
Here's a breakdown of the AMA questions and the timing in the audio below:
AMA Q1 (00:00:00)
In the FBCA course, I didn't see any guidelines about how long a patient should stop supplementation before going for a retest. Could you advise me on where to find this information?
AMA Q2 (00:04:34)
Can you please explain to me the rationale behind eosinophil % reading - I understand that it is expressed as a percentage of total WBC. Do both the % and the absolute figures need to be elevated to be clinically significant?
AMA Q3 (00:08:51)
I am baffled I have a client with a Prolactin variable of 667 mIU/L I tried to convert to nmol/l but get a reading of 29.00nmol/L this is much higher than the range, have I calculated this wrong somewhere?
AMA Q4 (00:10:39)
Can you talk about High Ferritin and the role in cardiovascular risk/inflammation?
AMA Q5 (00:16:23)
A lab asked us a question on which fibrinogen is on the panel... activity or antigen?
AMA Q6 (00:17:05)
I'd like to know more about GlycA as an inflammatory marker. Will you be including GlycA as an inflammatory marker in the software sometime in the future? It is often elevated when CRP is not
AMA Q7 (00:25:37)
Does insulin interfere with the release of iron from Ferritin? I often see high insulin, high ferritin, and normal to low serum iron.
AMA Q8 (00:31:42)
I often see a pattern of high RBC, HGB, and HCT. Aside from dehydration, what could drive this pattern?