ISLAMABAD, April 28: The laboratory reports of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) have become unreliable, sources in the hospital told Dawn. They said on a number of occasions results of tests conducted at Pims laboratory were found completely different after they were cross-checked at private laboratories.

At present, as many as eight similar cases are being investigated by the hospital authorities, the sources added. In all these cases, the laboratory reports of Pims had shown the results as 'negative'. However, when the specimen were cross- checked in private laboratories, the results were found 'positive'.

These tests were conducted to diagnose diseases like cancer, hepatitis and cholesterol, the sources said. "A wrong laboratory result could be life-threatening for the patients," the sources said, adding that Pims also provided medical cover to VVIPs, diplomats, bureaucrats and parliamentarians.

Referring to the latest examples, the sources said a doctor of the hospital's surgical unit, after becoming suspicious that he had contracted hepatitis due to an accidental needle prick in his finger, got his blood tested from the Pims laboratory. The result was 'negative'.

But when he cross-checked his blood from a private laboratory, the result was 'positive'. In another case, a patient's blood report was found normal when the doctors conducted his pre-operation tests at the hospital laboratory.

However, after the operation, when the doctors again conducted similar tests from a private laboratory, the results showed that the patient was suffering from hepatitis, the sources said. Similarly, a middle-aged man got his blood tested from Pims to check his cholesterol level.

The report showed his cholesterol level 'very high'. The doctors advised him to get admitted to the hospital. However, when the patient got the report re-checked from a private laboratory, it showed that his cholesterol level was 'low'.

In another case, a private laboratory test of a man indicated that he was a cancer patient, but Pims laboratory contradicted the report. When contacted, Pims' deputy executive director Jehanzaib Orakzai told Dawn that he had received only one such complaint. He said this was a case of screening not testing. He said the Pims doctor had informed him about the contradictory reports.

However, Mr Orakzai said the doctor did not turn up when he was asked to bring both the reports to him so that he could investigate the matter. Mr Orakzai said there could be a possibility that both the reports were correct due to time factor. He maintained that at the time of the test at Pims, the doctor might not have got infected with hepatitis.

However, the result of the second test was positive as the doctor got his test conducted from the private laboratory after a few hours of the incident as by that time the disease had completely affected the blood, he added.