Doctors, why this kolaveri di?

31^st August, 2013, Gujarat.

I was on vacations with my family to Gujarat where we visited some of our relatives and friends. My uncle there had a rule of visiting and inspecting his factory every Saturday. As an IIT aspirant and a future engineer, it was natural for me to join him to the factory and satisfy my curiosity and technical part of my mind.

What I witnessed there, was beyond my imagination! I was overwhelmed with the kind of advanced technology used there. It was a small scale production unit in a minor rural area, I didn’t expect these kind of machines and production rates there. Also the workers there, mostly the locals of the village, had detailed knowledge about the product and the working of the machines. I couldn’t contain my astonishment. But that’s not what the post is about.

Later, while we were returning, we stopped at Bhachau, a small city in Gujarat. We stopped because every alternate Saturday uncle made it a point to get a blood test his way back home(he is a kidney patient). After blood collection was done, we had a light brunch. After an hour or so, we were handed the reports there itself. The journey resumed. Uncle immediately called his doctor and dictated all his reports to him, the reports were bad, terrible in fact.

The potassium level mentioned in the reports was 9.4 mEq/L, the normal range is from 3.2 to 5.2 mEq/L. If the potassium level nears the 8 mEq/L mark, it is alarming, the patient can have a cardiac arrest without any symptoms. At that moment, we were dealing with 9.4 mEq/L potassium level, it was frightening. Uncle’s doctor suggested him to get his blood tested again at some other pathology lab immediately. In another 2 hours, we got another report from another pathology lab, the potassium level mentioned was 5.4 mEq/L, a little over normal. This experience created a reasonable doubt in our minds, so we decided to check the reliability of some reputed pathology labs.

Monday morning, 2^nd Sept, 2013, Uncle and I went to four different pathology labs for testing. Uncle gave his blood and got only his potassium checked. After 2 hours, all reports were in our hands. It was simply mind boggling. The reports were as follows, 1) 5.1 mEq/L, 2) 7.3 mEq/L, 3) 3.2 mEq/L and 4) 6.5 mEq/L. Same person, same report request, same blood, only different pathology labs, what conclusions can be made? A difference of say 0.1-0.4 is still acceptable, but the reports were just not digestible. What was to be done? Which report was to be considered true? We all were bewildered.

Reports are the only way we get to know what’s going on in our body, all the chemical balances and biological levels, etc. Reports are considered to be true, hard evidence of our body chemistry. They form the base for any kind of treatment or for detection of any kind of disease. If they are produced false, if we question the reliability of these reports, whom are to be believed then?? Only for the sake of good business, pathology labs are willing to give away false reports to the patients and we the patients, medical illiterates, we innocently visit the doctor, doctor prescribes more tests and some medicines and this cycle will go on and on. Like pet hamsters we’ll keep running, providing doctors and pathology labs large revenues and we’ll also allow them to experiment on our body.

I am not against any kind of medical practice, I just have one nagging questions which is irritating me since that day, If the reports are prodced wrong, how are we supposed to diagnose our body reliably?

P.S.:- One of my friend’s relative is a head pathologist in one of the reputed pathology labs, I discusses this matter with her. Her reply was shocking, “haan, yehi toh hota hai, kafi cases mein doctor jo value bolte hai, hum who hi likh dete hai, hume upar se order aata hai.”---“yes, this is only what happens , in many cases, we just print the values instructed by the doctor, we get orders from higher authorities.”  

I don’t want to name any pathology lab, doctor or person, don’t want any controversies. I just wanted to share my experience with the world, and I guess I can say nothing more than, TAKE CARE.