Say a doctor isn't sure whether his patient is suffering from gallstones or hepatitis—
Or say he can't decide whether his patient's chest pains are due to "angina" or to a heart attack-Thursday, pathologists, who are in New Orleans more than 1000 strong, discussed certain blood tests which are being increasingly used to pinpoint diagnosis.
The discussion highlighted a joint interim meeting of the American Society of Clinical Pathologists, the College of American Pathologists and the Louisiana Pathology Society.
Dr. John B. Henry of Gainesville, Fla., told how enzymes in the blood help track down various diseases.
"As you know, an enzyme is a protein that changes the rate of reaction in all cells of the body," explained Dr. Iteiry, interviewed between sessions at th£ Louisiana State University Medical school.
The pathologist said in certain ailments where the electrocardiogram finding is somewhat ob-jscure, an enzyme blood test : will give the right answer."
Dr. Henry said when a patient has a heart attack certain enzymes are liberated from the heart to the blood.
This makes it easier for the tologist to pinpoint various heart ailments, he explained.
"Often a doctor isn't sure whether his patient's chest pains are due to so-called 'angina pectoris' or to a heart attack," added Dr. Henry, who is director of clinical laboratories at the J. Hillis Miller Heath Center at the University of Florida.
The pathologist said in such a situation measuring enzymes in the patient's blood will definitely help.
"Measuring enzymes in the blood also helps differentiate between gallstones and hepatitis," Dr. Henry explained. "Measuring enzymes in the blood helps differentiate between pancreatitis and liver disease. And one type of muscular dystrophy can definitely be detected by measuring such enzymes."
Dr. Henry said unfortunately enzymes in the blood have not yet proved the answer in diagnosing cancer.
— "We'd lifee to perfect this test to such an extent that we could say with absolute certainty— 'This enzyme means liver trouble,' or 'This enzyme means a heart ailment.'
The pathologist said often a series of tests, lasting several days or several weeks, is required to be sure.
'Our findings of course must
be correlated with the physical findings," he added. "But to $ate these tests have proved 95 to 99 per cent accurate in heart attacks, 95 to 97 per cent correct in diseases of the pancreas and 100 per cent correct in diagnosing liver ailments."
Another convention speaker expressed the belief that "one of the really new and important things in medicine is use of the computer to obtain an over-all picture of a patient's condition."
Dr. H. M. Carpenter of Winston Salem, N. C. , said laboratory data concerning a certain patient comprises about 50 per cent of all medical data collected on the patient while he is in the hospital.
"In our own 500-bed hospital we are now performing about 500,000 tests a year," explained Dr. Carpenter, who is associate professor of pathology at Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Wake Forest College.
The pathologist said even more to be reckoned with are "the more than 3,000,000 laboratory tests performed yearly by Mayo Clinic pathologists. : "Naturally in such cases a computer proves a God-send," added the young physician. "Say a piece of tissue is sent to the laboratory for a biopsy. And say the biopsy proves the
tissue is malignant. Well, at this; point the doctor can study other; cases of similar malignancies1 which are kept on file on computer cards."PHOTO: THURSDAY'S speakers at the convention of pathologists at .Louisiana State University School of Medicine are welcomed by hosts of "the meeting. From left are Dr. Henry Mc-Gill, head of the Pathology Department at LSU Medical School; Dr. Monroe Samuels, program chairman; Dr. John li Henry oi Gainesville, Fla., and Dr. H. M> Carpenter of Winston-Salem, N. C. Dr. Henry and Dif. Car-netiter delivered addresses.
