Department Of Laboratory Medicine

Laboratory Medicine is the major hub of the healthcare system wherein the treatments of various medical conditions are decided based on the results of the diagnostic laboratory tests conducted by the lab technicians. It includes all simple to complex tests. At CK Birla RBH Department of Laboratory Medicine tests are performed on various body samples like blood, urine, saliva, cerebrospinal fluid, sweat, breath, hair, and stool. Such laboratory tests are performed to detect the infectious agents and microscopic molecules in body tissues; DNA, RNA, enzymes, proteins, viruses, bacteria, and others.

The Department of laboratory medicine at CK Birla RBH aims to provide the best quality care to the patients by pinpointing the cause of various illnesses. It ensures accurate test results in the lab reports using proficiency testing standards with rigorous quality control. It has a staff of laboratory technicians, scientific and junior residents, and other health workers. The department has the latest laboratory facilities available round-the-clock for the sick patients of the emergency medicine, wards, and ICU.

The different laboratories under our roof which are available for performing a wide range of tests include

Clinical biochemistry laboratory: This unit of the department focuses on conducting all the biochemistry tests using samples like blood, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid. The routine blood tests are used to monitor zinc, digoxin levels, gentamycin, different drugs like barbiturates, lithium psychiatric drugs, and others; lipase (for diagnosing pancreatitis), pseudo-choline esterase (to check for organophosphate poisoning), and HDL cholesterol levels (to diagnose cardiovascular disease). Special biochemistry tests are sweat conductivity tests (for diagnosis of cystic fibrosis), zinc level tests (using semen or urine samples), copper tests (using blood or urine), and tests for enzymes like lactate dehydrogenase, creatine phosphatase, and alkaline phosphatase. Some general urine tests are also conducted for diabetes, infection, kidney function, and pregnancy testing.
Transfusion medicine laboratory: It conducts tests such as antibody screening, cross matching, indirect or direct Coomb’s test, and blood grouping that establish the compatibility among patients for blood transfusion.
Clinical Physiology laboratory: This division performs the tests for checking the functional ability of different organs and organ systems. It includes tests like ECG (electrocardiogram- for studying heart functioning), audiometry (to test hearing ability), spirometry (to assess lungs functioning), ultrasonography (use of sound waves for imaging of internal tissues and organs), and EEG (electroencephalogram- for detecting electrical activity of the brain).
Clinical Microbiology Laboratory: It includes all range of tests carried out under mycology (for fungal diseases), parasitology (for parasitic infections), bacteriology (for bacterial infections), and mycobacteriology (for diseases caused by mycobacterial species). The testing materials used are sputum, stool, urine, blood, pharyngeal mucus, and pus. Pathogenic infections are also diagnosed by antibacterial susceptibility testing.
Advanced Medical laboratory: This laboratory offers genetic testing for different disorders which run in families like congenital malformation syndrome, inherited metabolic disorders, and genetic skeletal disorders. It also includes the high-risk screening of newborns for Pompe disease (build-up of glycogen in body cells) and lysosomal storage disease (abnormal accumulation of toxic substances in the body cells due to enzyme deficiencies).