Digoxin is a drug used to treat heart failure and abnormal heart rhythms. Digoxin levels must be monitored because the drug has a narrow safety range. Digoxin dosage may be adjusted based on levels measured.
The chymotrypsin test is used along with other tests, such as a fecal fat and/or fecal elastase, to evaluate both children and adults for pancreatic insufficiency.
A bacterial wound culture is primarily used, along with a Gram stain and other tests, to help determine whether a wound is infected and to identify the bacteria causing the infection.
The activated clotting time (ACT) is commonly used to monitor treatment with high dose heparin before, during, and shortly after medical procedures that require that blood be prevented from clotting, such as cardiac bypass surgery, cardiac angioplasty, and dialysis.
Vanillylmandelic acid (VMA) is one of the breakdown products (metabolites) of epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine. The VMA test primarily detects or rules out tumors called neuroblastomas in children.
Smooth muscle antibodies (SMA) are autoantibodies produced by the body that attack its own actin, a protein found in tissues, especially the liver. SMA or F-actin antibody tests help diagnose and differentiate autoimmune hepatitis type 1 and type 2.
