Selected controversial topics in avian diagnostic testing

Continual advances in avian veterinary medicine have led to continually changing and evolving diagnostic approaches towards screening the clinically normal and the obviously ill avian patient. These advances have come from controlled scientific studies, primarily from universities and from careful data collection and assessment by astute clinicians. Avian practitioners must be particularly careful when using diagnostic tests that are based primarily on testimonials rather than reproducible or validated data. Care is also needed when clinically interpreting laboratory test results. This report discusses the following diagnostic tools: plasma zinc testing, aspergillus immunology, thyroid testing, and protein electrophoresis.