Medical Laboratory Observer articles from April 2004

Medical Laboratory Observer archives from April 2004

Celebrate!(From the Editor)(Medical Laboratory )
April 1, 2004... Are we not a nation of celebratory folk? If an official holiday is not on the calendar, surely somebody will invent one to fill in the blank space. (Did you, like me, miss Squirrel Appreciation Day in January?) Holidays are "when the familiar...

National Med Lab Week recognition.(Readers Respond)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2004... In 1964, I graduated from high school knowing exactly what I wanted to do: medical technology. My sophomore year at North Texas State University, I applied for a summer job in the laboratory at St. Paul Hospital, Dallas, TX. I was hooked! I...

Increasing blood to the bones.(Readers Respond)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2004... The news item on page 8 of the December [2003] issue of MLO (The Observatory, "Bone disease linked to SARS cocktail") caught my eye. My wife, age 80, suffered constantly with a stiff knee and experienced acute pain in the calf of her leg. Her...

Upcoming conferences.(Events)(Brief Article)(Calendar)
April 1, 2004... * Upcoming conferences. Healthcare pros learn about new technologies and strategies, while laboratorians can learn how to increase efficiency and profitability, and discover innovative approaches to disease management. Beckman Coulter's 2004...

Blood substitute consent.(Blood Works)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... * Blood substitute consent. Paramedics tested an experimental blood substitute, PolyHeme, on severely injured patients in February without their consent, according to Associated Press reports. Northfield Laboratories of Evanston, IL, says its...

New risk factor for heart disease.(Cardiac Markers)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... * New risk factor for heart disease. The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) population released a study in Circulation, the online edition of the Journal of the American Heart Association, supporting the measurement of lipoprotein...

PIGF linked to heart risks.(Cardiac Markers)(placental growth factor protein)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... * PIGF linked to heart risks. A German study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that risk of heart disease can be detected through a blood test using a new marker, placental growth factor protein (PIGF), which...

Bacterial resistance: how to detect three types.(Continuing Education)
April 1, 2004... CONTINUING EDUCATION To earn CEUs, see test on page 24. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Upon completion of this article the reader will be able to: 1. Discuss the importance of testing for extended-spectrum beta-lactamase production by...

Follow a "world-class service" blueprint.(Lab Management)(Medical Center of Louisiana at New Orleans)(National Medical Laboratory Week )(Cover Story)
April 1, 2004... Cleveland Clinic Foundation wins the MLO Medical Laboratory of the Year 2004 Award Its commitment to patient satisfaction through a metrics-based "world-class service" program put the Division of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine of the...

Gen-Probe's Henry Nordhoff keys in on future trends.(Executive Forecast)(Interview)
April 1, 2004... Dottie Dunham: In the last 15 years, Gen-Probe researchers have developed five core technologies: ribosomal RNA targeting, target capture, transcription-mediated amplification, hybridization-protection assay, and dual kinetic assay. What is...

Biochemical markers of bone turnover and their utility in osteoporosis.(Clinical Issues)
April 1, 2004... Osteoporosis, an age-related, degenerative disease of bone is an asymptomatic disease that is diagnosed after an already unacceptable loss of bone has occurred. Alternatively, a compression fracture may lead to the initial diagnosis. Diagnosis...

Another privacy issue: slide disposal.(Liability and the Lab)(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996)
April 1, 2004... Q We have been told by our HIPAA-compliance officer that our usual method of disposing of glass slides (cytology and hematology) is unacceptable because the patient name and number may remain in the slide. He is insisting that we either crush...

Addressing management issues: low morale at a remote laboratory, and an employee interrupts the workday.(Management Q & A)
April 1, 2004... Low morale at a remote laboratory Q I am the lab manager at a remote laboratory. At the end of the day, we send the lab testing work not handled at our location to our central laboratory several hundred miles away. The central lab is not...

Repeating critical values.(Lab Professionals Pose Challenging Inquiries)
April 1, 2004... Q Our hospital laboratory policy requires a repeat analysis of any critical values obtained by chemistry or hematology instrumentation. Our hematology analyzer samples the specimen once, then splits the sample into four parts and measures white...

Staph with a zone of inhibition.(Lab Professionals Pose Challenging Inquiries)
April 1, 2004... Q In my work as a clinical microbiologist, I recently came across something I had not seen before. On a vaginal culture from a three-year-old girl in the ER, I found a Staphylococcus colony, which had created a zone of inhibition where alpha...

Liquid calibrators for instrument.(Lab Professionals Pose Challenging Inquiries)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Q Olympus has recently changed its calibrator configuration to a lypholized material that is not stable enough to fit our situation. We are a small 14-bed hospital and are wasting money by throwing away calibrator due to short stability. Do you...

PTH and ionized calcium.(Lab Professionals Pose Challenging Inquiries)(parathyroid hormone)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Q The chemistry lab is attempting to bring up parathyroid hormone (PTH) testing. Method validation data is good, but our pathologist will not approve the method because of issues involving interpretation. He believes that a PTH should be...

Immunodiagnostic revolution.(Product Focus)(PhD System,)
April 1, 2004... In the early 1990s, the revolutionary first generation of immunoassay systems automated what had been labor-intensive manual laboratory testing. Since then, advances in clinical immunology, and the ever-increasing demand for faster turnaround...

Washer for cell assays.(Industry Spotlight)
April 1, 2004... New and compact, the ELx405 Select CW Microplate Washer features a patented dual-action manifold, which provides independent control of both the dispense and aspirate manifolds for precise overfill washing and overflow protection in 96-and...

Pre-natal care testing.(Industry Spotlight)
April 1, 2004... A clinical test for the diagnosis and monitoring of various hormonal reproductive disorders, Inhibin A ELISA utilizes two highly specific antibodies in a two-site "sandwich" system to detect dimeric inhibin A in serum and plasma. Kits are...

HIV 1/2 performance panel.(Industry Spotlight)
April 1, 2004... The PRZ205-anti HIV 1/2 Combo Performance Panel is a 15-member mixed-titer performance panel consisting of samples, ranging in reactivity from negative to strongly positive for antibodies to the human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) 1 and 2. The...

New HbA1c control.(Industry Spotlight)
April 1, 2004... Supplied as a ready-use liquid requiring no reconstitution, the new GlycoHemosure HbA1c control is prepared from human serum and is intended as a reference material for the monitoring of serum hemogloblin A1c, which is an important analyte for...

Hand-held UVC "wand".(Industry Spotlight)
April 1, 2004... SterilWand is a hand-held device that uses multipatented UVC technology for the decontamination of surfaces infested with mold, bacteria, or viruses. Simple to operate, the hand-held "wand" is equipped with an aluminum safety shield that...

Cell-counter software.(Industry Spotlight)
April 1, 2004... Suited for use in medical labs where manual cell counts are performed, the WindSum 3.0 Software Program is a tabulation application that converts numeric keys of a PC keyboard into a user-defined counter. The program can tally up to 15...

Improved microtome precision.(Industry Spotlight)
April 1, 2004... The Leica RM2255, designed for fully motorized sectioning of both paraffin- and resin-embedded specimens, provides a broad application spectrum for the high-through-put histology laboratory. This compact, fully motorized/electronic microtome...

Cardiovascular risk market.(Industry Spotlight)
April 1, 2004... Recently cleared by the FDA, a new addition to the BN ProSpec instrument's broad menu of plasma protein assays, the N High Sensitivity CRP Assay serves as an independent marker for the identification of individuals at risk for future...

Risk-free electrophoresis.(Industry Spotlight)
April 1, 2004... Capable of processing 216 samples every hour, the HydraPlus System ensures fast and risk-free sample processing, eliminating the need for manual pipetting/diluting. The system delivers precise microvolumes of sample directly from primary tubes...

One-day genetic testing.(Industry Spotlight)
April 1, 2004... Part of an expanded list of one-day genetic tests from a specialist in DNA analysis for common genetic disorders is the addition of Tay-Sachs DN testing service. The test includes three mutations and is performed on either blood- or cheek-cell...

Specimen-tracking enhancements.(Industry Spotlight)
April 1, 2004... Offering a wide range of enhancements, the latest release of Instrument Manager v8.03 features the addition of specimen-collection date/time, rack, position, and releasing user to the data items available in its report designer function. An...

Third-generation CRP.(Industry Spotlight)
April 1, 2004... Adaptable to most currently used automated analyzers, the new WideRange CRP Reagent incorporates the same immunoturbidimetric method but offers an extended sensitivity range of 0.1 mg/L to 320 mg/L. The wider range effectively eliminates the...

New 25-test serology kits.(Industry Spotlight)
April 1, 2004... Designed specifically for smaller hospitals, clinics, and laboratories, this newly introduced line of 25-test serology kits comes complete with all the necessary testing material. Tests offered in this new line include; RPR Syphilis, Rubella,...

OSHA on phlebotomy disposal.(Washington Report)(Occupational Safety and Health Administration)
April 1, 2004... The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently issued a safety and health information bulletin explaining its policy on the disposal of contaminated needles and blood tube holders following blood-drawing procedures. The...