Capsules

P: Doctors rely heavily on the results of laboratory tests for both diagnosis and prescription, but 2,500 members of the American Academy of General Practice were warned in St. Louis last week that far too many of the test findings are not accurate, and some are downright wrong. Such test results, said Pathologist Louis S. Smith of Dallas, "can be responsible for a major number of prolongations of illness and some deaths." His suggested remedy: require more formal training for technicians, then pay them better (only 8 1/2% now make $80 a week).

P: To the post of chief of the Children's Bureau in the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, President Eisenhower nominated Katherine Brownell Oettinger, 53, now dean of Boston University's School of Social Work. A veteran of social work in New York City and Pennsylvania, she succeeds Dr. Martha M. Eliot.

P: Deaths of U.S. infants under one year old have been cut by almost three-fourths since 1915, from 10% to 2.6%, the Health Information Foundation reported. But the first week of life is still by far the most hazardous, and deaths in that period have been reduced only from 3% to 1.7%.

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