Laboratory assessment of thyroid disorders - which test should be used?

There are a variety of laboratory investigations which have been used in the assessment of thyroid function and it is obvious that not all of these tests can be used on each occasion. Which, therefore, provides the best diagnostic index? Each test is designed to assess a particular aspect of the thyroid gland and it is often not possible to select a single test as an ideal and exclude the others. The data presented in this paper indicate the advantages of using a combination of various procedures as a screening profile to cover all thyroid abnormalities. The results of several thyroid tests accumulated over the past five years are critically examined to assess their diagnostic value separately and in selected groups. Introduction.