Laboratory Medicine and Emergency Medicine: an essential partnership

A better understanding of the pathophysiological bases of many pathologies, along with the considerable technological advances occurred over last few years, have allowed to broaden number and complexity of in vitro diagnostic tests. The emergency department is the clinical setting with the highest risk of forensic disputes, and this explains the inclination that many emergency physicians have towards defensive medicine. Disproportionate request of laboratory tests, with poor awareness on the impact of inappropriateness, is one of the leading negative aftermath of this attitude. The predictable consequences are economic, but also encompass the risk of generating direct damage to the patients, especially in the presence of false positive test results. Since diagnostic appropriateness represents an essential element for patient safety and for sustainability of the National Healthcare System, the Italian Society of Clinical Biochemistry and Clinical Molecular Biology (SIBioC) and the Academy of Emergency Medicine and Care (AcEMC) have organized a joint meeting entitled "Laboratory Medicine and Emergency Medicine: an essential partnership", of which this document is a summary. The issues that have been discussed represent major diagnostic dilemmas faced by emergency physicians, and for which the contribution of laboratory medicine may be decisive. These include acute systemic infections, acute abdominal pain, acute chest pain, head injury and acute bleeding. Since timely transmission of test results is an additional critical element for the clinical decision making in emergency settings, the document will also include considerations on sample transportation from the emergency room to the laboratory.