Medical Laboratory Observer articles from April 2005

Medical Laboratory Observer archives from April 2005

Try a little umph.(From the editor)(Medical Laboratory of 2005 Awards)(Editorial)
April 1, 2005... Amazingly, it is the time of year when we roll out the red carpet again. No, not that Hollywood "red carpet." The one for the winners of our Medical Laboratory of 2005 Awards. The important red carpet. We have three new "stars," each deserving...

Agreeing to disagree.(Readers respond)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2005... Colleen Gannon's reply to Dr. Block Thank you for your comments regarding my recent publication, "Responsible reporting in microbiology," [see letters to the editor, February 2005, p.38]. I agree with your points about the two case histories...

Smoking-cessation support.(Readers respond)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2005... I read your column ["A 'cool' Yule," p. 4] this morning in the December 2004 issue of MLO. I can appreciate your inability to fully commit to stop smoking. I was in the same situation six years ago. My husband and I both smoked. In 1997, he had...

West Nile striking early.(Infectious diseases)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... West Nile striking early. Health officials in California are anticipating an active West Nile virus (WNV) season as a result of heavy rains throughout the winter. The disease has yet to be diagnosed in humans so far this year, but several cases...

Malaria estimate doubles.(Infectious diseases)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Malaria estimate doubles. As recently reported in the journal Nature, researchers led by Dr. Robert Snow of the Kenya Medical Research Institute have conservatively estimated the number of global Plasmodium falciparum malaria cases in 2002 at...

National Medical Laboratory Week.(Infectious diseases)
April 1, 2005... National Medical Laboratory Week. The theme of this year's National Medical Laboratory Week, observed April 24-30, is "The Heart of the Medical Investigation Team." This special week is a time not only for employers to recognize the hard work...

Setback for proteomics-based cancer detection.(News)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Setback for proteomics-based cancer detection. In a recent issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, researchers led by Keith Baggerly, PhD, at Houston's M.D. Anderson Cancer Center claim to have disproven the conclusion drawn in a...

Conferences.(Brief Article)(Calendar)
April 1, 2005... * May 11-14. In joint sponsorship with the Cleveland Clinic, the International Society for Laboratory Hematology will host its annual "Technological Innovations in Laboratory Hematology" symposium in San Francisco at the Grand Hyatt, Union...

Cardiac marker audioconference.(Education)
April 1, 2005... Cardiac marker audioconference. The AACC and the National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry will host an audioconference entitled "Multimarker Testing for Cardiac and Cardiovascular Diseases: A Proteomic Approach" from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. EST on...

Clinical utility of autoantibodies directed against TSH-R.(TSH receptor)(TRAb)
April 1, 2005... CONTINUING EDUCATION To earn CEUs, see test on page 16. LEARNING OBJECTIVES 1. State four clinical features of Graves' disease (GD). 2. Describe the molecular structure and function of the TSH receptor. 3. Identify three...

Erratum.(Correction Notice)
April 1, 2005... "The detection and measurement of microalbuminuria: a challenge for clinical chemistry," published in the February 2005 issue of Medical Laboratory Observer (MLO), contained selected text that previously appeared in an article published in the...

MIME sparks heated discussion at CLIAC.(CLIAC update)(Midwest Institute for Medical Educationv)(Clinical Laboratory Improvement Advisory Committee)(implementation of cytology proficiency testing)
April 1, 2005... The Clinical Laboratory Improvement Advisory Committee (CLIAC) met in Atlanta on Feb. 16-17, 2005, to hear agency updates and discuss implementation of cytology proficiency testing; CLIAC workgroup's report on waived testing; and appropriate...

Assess your sharps injury prevention program.(CLINICAL ISSUES)(sharps injury prevention committee)
April 1, 2005... Sharps injury prevention programs are intended to reduce the risks associated with the use of needles and other sharps. The goal of such programs should be to provide protection to everyone in the facility--from the sharps users, such as nurses...

Inland Hospital debuts at No. 1 with its "star" performers: Maine is home to this year's winner of MLO's Medical Laboratory of the Year Award 2005.(LAB MANAGEMENT)
April 1, 2005... Each year, MLO sponsors a friendly competition among laboratories in conjunction with National Medical Laboratory Week. A three-judge panel selects a winner, a first runner-up, and a second runner-up from among the nominees. Our April issue...

SCC's bottom line reflects the value of training.(Education)(SCC Soft Computer's)
April 1, 2005... What advantages can a company--or a laboratory--realize when it understands the importance of providing its employees the knowledge and skills necessary to excel at their jobs and to ensure its business objectives are met? MLO discovered how...

Chris Viele of KRONUS chronicles autoimmune disease advances.(Executive snapshot)
April 1, 2005... Diagnostic dilemma: Autoimmune diseases, whether organ-specific or systemic, often present with a myriad of vague and non-specific symptoms, particularly in the early phases of disease, making a definitive diagnosis difficult. With an...

Addressing management issues.(Management Q & A)
April 1, 2005... Gossip Q Considering the need for a high level of laboratory teamwork and communication, can you offer any advice/resources on how to draw the line between gossip that harms the team, gossip that helps the team, and the use of close...

Glycolysis and specimen storage.(Answering your questions)
April 1, 2005... Q Our laboratory frequently performs chemistry tests on specimens collected on a mobile basis. These specimens may not be centrifuged for several hours; consequently, we report a very high percentage of low glucose values. Is there a common...

Antibiotic panel for Streptococcus pneumoniae.(Answering your questions)
April 1, 2005... Q I have been assigned to review our susceptibility panels for various organism groups, including Streptococcus pneumoniae. Which antimicrobial agents should be routinely tested and reported on S pneumoniae? Should a disk diffusion or MIC...

Minimum blood volume for CBC tubes.(Answering your questions)
April 1, 2005... Q At our clinic, we are trying to determine the minimum blood volume required for EDTA 5-mL tubes in order to have confidence in CBC results. We use Becton Dickinson Vacutainer tubes. A The amount of anticoagulant that manufacturers...

Pipette QC.(Answering your questions)
April 1, 2005... Q I am in a doctor's office lab. I need to do my MLA pipette QC. What is the easiest way to go about verification for my MLA pipettes? I used to do it at the hospital on their Metler Balance with a QC program. Is there a better way? A...

IHC for burns.(Answering your questions)
April 1, 2005... Q Is it possible to use an immunohistochemical method to differentiate between antemortem and postmortem burn? A I was assisted in answering this question by William Brady, MD, a forensic pathologist, and David Tacha, chief scientist at an...

The plus and minus sides of Rh transfusions.(Liability and the lab)
April 1, 2005... Q It is common practice and declared community standard by our blood center that Rh-negative elderly patients and Rh-negative males over 55 receive Rh-positive blood for transfusion because Rh-negative donor blood is always in short supply and...

Trends in POCT.(point of care testing)(information technology in the healthcare sector)
April 1, 2005... With government pushing for widespread use of information technology in the healthcare arena within the next few years, improving healthcare safety, quality, efficiency, and coordination between providers necessarily involves point-of-care...

Laboratory furniture.(Product focus)(AnthroBench)(Centura Laboratory Cabinets )(Portable table)(Standing seat)
April 1, 2005... Laboratory technology and design have come a long way over the years, and laboratory furniture has evolved to keep up with continually changing demands. Today's lab furniture should be durable, multifunctional, and versatile and have the...

EHEC diagnosis aid.(Industry spotlight)
April 1, 2005... The Premier EHEC test--intended to aid in the diagnosis of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) infections--is a rapid in vitro microwell enzyme immunoassay for the detection of Shiga Toxins 1 and 2 (Verotoxins) in stool specimens, in...

Long-tipped pipette.(Industry spotlight)
April 1, 2005... For pipetting volumes from 1 mL to 10 mL into a wide variety of vessels, the Eppendorf Research 10 mL pipette and tip system has a very long, graduated tip that can be used with standard, narrow, or deep test tubes. Other features include the...

Absorbent benchliners.(Industry spotlight)
April 1, 2005... Lab technicians can cut benchliners of any size from biohazard rolls. The absorbent, bright-orange protective polyethylene backing prevents leak-through of fluids and pathogens to surface and gloves. Rolls are available in three low-linting...

HDL-C quantitation.(Industry spotlight)
April 1, 2005... This L-Type HDL-C assay test kit is available for the quantitative determination of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in serum. Based on immunoinhibition, the assay correlates well with reference methods, comes with ready-to-use reagents,...

Alternative consumables.(Industry spotlight)
April 1, 2005... Guaranteed with the same warranties and performance benchmarks, this portfolio of generic consumables for the Bayer Rapidlab 800 Series analyzers includes calibrators, reagents, quality controls, and electrodes. These affordable products are...

SP lab catalog.(Industry spotlight)
April 1, 2005... For more than 50 years, the SP brand lab catalog has been the go-to sourcebook for laboratory disposables, equipment, and specialized clinical and research items. With more than 2,000 pages, the latest catalog contains more than 23,000 SP...

Blood-sample vacuum tubes.(Industry spotlight)
April 1, 2005... The Cyto-Chex BCT is a vacuum tube for collecting, transporting, and retaining whole-blood samples for immunophenotyping by flow cytometry. Its preservative maintains integrity of WBC clusters of differentiation or CD markers for up to seven...

New PSA in the USA.(Industry spotlight)
April 1, 2005... Introduced for U.S. use on Abbott analyzers and automated immunoassay instrument systems are the ARCHITECT Free PSA (CMIA) for the quantitative determination of free PSA in human serum and the ARCHITECT Total PSA. Also new are the AxSYM Free...

Label printer-applicator.(Industry spotlight)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The new LAP4500 automatic printer-applicator facilitates the printing and application of small bar-code labels to a broad range of labware. This small-footprint system has a simple, gravity-fed, label-application chute, which can handle 2-mL to...

Electronic pipette.(Industry spotlight)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The Transferpette electronic pipette is an accurate, ergonomic, motorized instrument for use in laboratory applications. The soft-touch pipetting key, adjustable finger-rest, and lightweight tip cone minimize static strain and operational...

"Invisible" gloves.(Industry spotlight)
April 1, 2005... Gloves In A Bottle lotion works like an invisible pair of gloves by helping protect against damage caused by medicines, chemicals, solvents, and frequent washings. It also protects against cracking and drying caused from reactions to latex and...

Biomedical packaging.(Industry spotlight)
April 1, 2005... This worldwide supplier of biomedical packaging offers U.N.-certified single and combination packagings, components, overpacks, and accessories for the transport of infectious substances, diagnostic specimens, and biological products. Varying...

Water purification.(Industry spotlight)
April 1, 2005... The easy-to-use, economical laboratory water-purification system, RiOs-DI 3 UV, is optimal for low-volume, routine laboratory applications ranging from buffer, reagent, and culture media preparation to general washing, and is ideal for feeding...

Disposable racks.(Industry spotlight)
April 1, 2005... Hold, transport, store, refrigerate, and incubate test tubes, all in one convenient unit with the Test n' Toss disposable test-tube rack. Suitable for labs of all sizes, the Test n' Toss holds up to eighty 16X100-mm tubes in a leak-resistant...

Respiratory analyzer.(Industry spotlight)
April 1, 2005... The addition of this new model to the company's popular series of Stat Profile pH[O.sub.x] Analyzers provides a dedicated test menu for respiratory care. The new Stat Profile pH[O.sub.2] Respiratory Analyzer incorporates a seven-test menu...

Dehydrated culture media.(Industry spotlight)
April 1, 2005... Criterion, a new brand of dehydrated culture media, features a wide-mouth opening that allows for easy scooping. The convenient handgrip design makes the bottle easy and safe to handle. Formulated for increased solubility and milled for a...

Liquid QC.(Industry spotlight)
April 1, 2005... Intended for use in clinical laboratories to verify calibration and assess linearity of clinical analyzers, LiniCAL Specific Protein Calibration Verifier kits contain five target levels for ImmunoProteins for Beckman Coulter Array and Immage,...

Serology centrifuge.(Industry spotlight)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... SeroSpin Packages include the EBA 21 centrifuge with a new angled control panel for easier access and readability. The SeroSpin-FA includes a 12-place fixed-angle rotor and can be used for cross matching and blood typing. The SeroSpin-SO...

An "official" salute to MLO readers.(Washington report)
April 1, 2005... In honor of National Medical Laboratory Week, leading advocates of the medical laboratory professions who have contributed to MLO features and to the "Washington Report" column share their thoughts on the importance of lab professionals' hard...