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RESEARCH PRODUCT

The Diagnosis of Disease by Element Analysis

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description

The elemental composition of the human body images in principle the elements of the periodic system. In the literature, about 80 elements are reported to occur in the human body and the number is expected to increase by the introduction of methods more sensitive in detection. The elemental composition in reference man as published (1) is summarized in tab. 1. From the major elements in reference man, the determination of the elements nitrogen, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, chlorine and magnesium are of importance for the diagnosis of diseases. The importance of the element determination for the diagnosis of diseases is also documented by the numbers of element determinations done daily in a hospital: In an university hospital with 1600 beds, about 1700 – 2100 elemental analyses in body fluids are done per day. The statistic is headed by the major elements sodium, potassium, calcium, chlorine, magnesium and phosphorus. The element determination is not only done in the routine laboratory but is also an integral part of the emergency laboratory. In the routine laboratory, about 14–17% of the total analyses per day are done as element analysis while in the emergency laboratory, the element determinations per total analysis is about 20–25% (2). The dominance of major elements in the statistic does not imply that the determination of essential trace elements or toxic elements is less important for the diagnosis of diseases. In case of acute metal or metalloid intoxications the determination of the element in question may be necessary within the emergency laboratory.