Workup
In simple terms a workup is the tests and analysis doctors run on a patient to assist the doctor in making a diagnosis of what problem may be causing a patient's symptoms. Any person with prolonged, or extreme short-term exposure to asbestos should inform the doctor so he or she can be on the look out for related injury or disease. For a person going to a doctor with respiratory problems the doctor may order blood tests, X-rays of the chest, and tests to determine how effectively the lungs are working.
Blood tests generally only take a minute or so and are minimally painful. The doctor or technician draws a small amount of blood that is stored in a test tube so it remains uncontaminated. From blood tests doctors can find indicators of infections, diseases, and general health.
X-Rays of the chest can show whether there is lung disease, or other problems in the chest cavity. Doctors can determine whether fluid has built up in the lungs, or whether there are any unusual masses that require further tests. A more sophisticated form of X-Ray is the CAT scan. It gives the doctor a more detailed picture of the chest cavity and any abnormalities that may be there.
If any abnormal growths are detected by other tests, the doctor may need to biopsy a sample to determine whether the growth is benign, non-cancerous, or malignant, cancerous. To do the biopsy the doctor needs to take a small sample of the tissue for laboratory analysis. Depending on what the tissue is, and where it is located in the body, the sample may be taken with a needle, or the doctor may need to do a VATS, video assisted thoroscopic surgery, to see and remove a piece of the tissue through a small incision between the ribs (1).
- Mesotheliomaweb.org, http://www.mesotheliomaweb.org/diagnosis.htm, Mesothelioma Diagnosis
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