Description of Services

Emergency Blood Transfusion

The Sedan City Hospital Lab houses emergency release units. All blood product related services are contracted with Kansas Red Cross which operates under the federal, state, and local regulations concerning procurement, testing, and transfusion of blood products. In the need of a transfusion, we draw the blood and send it to Kansas Red Cross for cross-matching.

Urinalysis

This test is one of the oldest laboratory tests still in use. We test urine using several chemical screening tests. The results of these tests can indicate several renal or systemic diseases. We also will look at all samples under the microscope to look for bacteria, crystals, cells or other objects which can indicate a disease. This area also does several tests called serological tests. These will screen for pregnancy or some illnesses such as mononucleosis, RSV, FLU, Drug Screens, Strep A, Occult Blood.

Hematology

Medical Technologists and Technicians in the hematology laboratory play a major role in patient care. The testing assays and examinations that they perform can do the following: Confirm a physician's clinical impression of a possible hematological disorder. Establish a diagnosis or rule out a diagnosis. Detect an unsuspected disorder. Monitor the effects of radiation or chemotherapy.

Basic Hematology Procedures such as the Complete Blood Count (CBC), which includes measurement and examination of White Blood Cells (WBC), Red Blood Cells (RBC) and their indices, Hemoglobin, and Platelets, and the Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR) frequently guide the physician in development of a patient diagnosis.
Even though the CBC is the most frequently requested procedure, the technologists and technicians must be familiar with the theory and practice of a variety of automated and manual tests, including Reticulocyte Counts and Body Fluid Cell Counts. The field of Hematology also includes the study of Hemostasis and Thrombosis.

Coagulation

Coagulation or Hemostasis is the study of the body's ability to form clots, dissolve clots, and maintain the delicate balance in between.
The "Coag" Area of the Hematology lab aids the physician in the detection of coagulation abnormalities and the monitoring of medication affecting them. Using tests such as Protime (PT) with INR, Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time (PTT), Fibrinogen, and Platelet Function the physician can assess and make medication changes as necessary and in a timely manner.

Microbiology

PHI microbiology lab purpose is to identify bacteria that cause infection in body fluids and tissues, and to test for the antibiotics that will work best to treat those infections.

Chemistry

The largest area in the laboratory is the chemistry area. SCH offers a wide variety of general chemistry, special chemistry and therapeutic drug testing done on blood, urine or body fluid. The automated equipment will allow a very high throughput for the general chemistry tests. The special chemistry tests take longer to run (up to 1 hour on the instrument) however this is still faster than sending the work to a reference laboratory. The chemistry area also has equipment dedicated to doing only STAT work. This instrument performs tests that are utilized mainly by the emergency room. The instrument has a limited test menu but it is much faster than the main analyzer.

Reference Laboratory

For those tests that the laboratory is not able to perform in-house we are affiliated with Regional Medical Laboratory (RML). To ensure the quickest turnaround time possible the laboratory is directly interfaced with the testing laboratory so reports do not have to be mailed. The reference laboratory provides a courier service to pick up specimens six days a week.