Clinical Practice of Biological Monitoring, 2nd Edition

From the Preface...
Frequently, it is challenging to choose the proper laboratory test, the most relevant biological matrix for testing, or the most informative analyte to provide the best interpretation and clinical relevance to the chemical test result. Our aim was to compose a practical and clinically relevant guide to biological monitoring. After years of intensive research, discussion, and writing, we present Clinical Practice of Biological Monitoring, Second Edition. In addition to refining previous chapters, this edition contains additional chapters regarding chemicals that now are contemporaneous with commerce or public health. However, limited commercially- available assays constrain the selection of chemicals to include in this edition.

The subject matter of this text is human exposure to inorganic, organic, and organometallic substances from industrial and environmental sources. For the reader, we elucidate occupational, environmental, and toxicology basics as they pertain to biological monitoring methods and objectives. We also discuss the interface of biomonitoring in causal methodology. Moreover, we detail both advantages and limitations of biological monitoring, as well as practical pre-analytical and post-analytical considerations. At the end of each chapter and augmented with figures and tables, are methods for assessing exposure. Most chapters include a quick-guide table succinctly indicating the best analyte, the best matrix, and a level-of-concern value for each substance. While not a health benchmark, the level-of-concern value is a potential indicator of a breach in industrial controls or elevated ambient concentrations requiring further investigation.