Medical Laboratory Observer articles from January 2004

Medical Laboratory Observer archives from January 2004

Thumbs up!(From the Editor)(Editorial)
January 1, 2004... Over the recent holidays, I read--in one of the many books gifted by family and friends--there are at least four things we can do with our hands: wring them in despair, fold them in idleness, clench them in anger, or put them to some useful...

Useful reading.(Readers Respond)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2004... Thank you for the online edition of your publication. I have always enjoyed the MLO and find it easy reading and useful in my career, from a rural hospital generalist to a POL manager. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] --Pamela Wolf ...

What stinks?(Readers Respond)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2004... In response to "Personal hygiene in the workplace" (July 2003, Management Q & A, p. 50), something that may need to be considered is that personal hygiene may not be responsible for the employee's offensive odor. There are hormones, especially...

"Fast" food for thought.(Readers Respond)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2004... In an editorial, (August 2003, "The magic in fairy tales," p. 6), you pondered over the shortage of laboratory technologists, and I would like to share my opinions with you. I work at a large hospital laboratory where there are a variety of lab...

"Bread crumbs" and Freud.(Readers Respond)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2004... I read your column on the shortage of clinical laboratory personnel, (August 2003, "The magic in fairy tales," p. 6), with interest. I have been a professional laboratorian since 1966 and have no interest in retiring as long as I'm able to...

Proficiency-testing program wins contract.(News)(The Medical Laboratory Evaluation (MLE)--a program of American College of Physicians Services Inc.,)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Proficiency-testing program wins contract. The Medical Laboratory Evaluation (MLE)--a program of American College of Physicians Services Inc. (ACP)--has been awarded a five-year contract by the General Services Administration (GSA), the federal...

Lab director CEU training offered.(News)
January 1, 2004... Lab director CEU training offered. The Commission on Office Lab Accreditation or COLA and the American College of Endocrinology are jointly offering a Laboratory Director Training Program at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, on March 20, 2004....

Power-protection course.(Disaster Preparedness)
January 1, 2004... Power-protection course. On January 24, 2004, Franek Technologies offers a course for laboratory managers--Power Protection of Mission Critical Medical and Laboratory Equipment--on laboratory disaster preparedness. The course will be held at...

States to be graded on bioterror plans.(Disaster Preparedness)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... States to be graded on bioterror plans. To test each state on its readiness for bioterrorism and health emergencies, a scoring system was implemented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this month. How quickly a smallpox...

Experimental Ebola vaccine given.(Disaster Preparedness)(Vical Inc.,)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Experimental Ebola vaccine given. An experimental vaccine designed to protect against Ebola is filled with the biological essence of one of the world's deadliest diseases, which rapidly kills 50% to 90% of its victims. Like the smallpox virus...

Direct nucleic acid diagnostic tests for bacterial infectious diseases: streptococcal pharyngitis, pulmonary tuberculosis, vaginitis, chlamydial and gonococcal infections.(Cover Story)
January 1, 2004... CONTINUING EDUCATION To earn CEUs, see test on page 16. Objectives and CE questions prepared by Gail S. Williams, PhD MT(ASCP)SBB, CLS(NCA), Northern Illinois University, College of Health and Human Sciences, Clinical Laboratory...

The role of esoteric reference laboratory as a partner for growth.(Direct NATs)
January 1, 2004... As the lab industry moves closer to "personalized medicine," the complexity of testing and information management will increase significantly. It is expected that within the next five to six years, molecular diagnostics will represent about 20%...

Abbott Diagnostics' Joe Nemmers concentrates on trend-setting issues.(Executive Forecast)(Interview)
January 1, 2004... Dottie Dunham: Mr. Nemmers, you are the new president of the Abbott Diagnostics Division. Congratulations! Can you share your vision for the direction of the company in the next five years, and explain how trends in the clinical laboratory...

The impact of marker selection and process improvements on cardiac care.(Clinical Issues)
January 1, 2004... Scientific and technological advances continue to create better tools for the diagnosis and treatment of cardiac disease. These developments do not universally lead to better medicine, however. Out of habit, even physicians who stay current in...

The standardization of troponin I assays: an update.(cardiac troponin I)
January 1, 2004... Although cardiac troponin I (cTnI) is now considered the marker of choice for the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction, (1) important ongoing efforts promise to deliver further improvements to cardiac testing. Specifically, efforts are...

Incubator controls.(Lab Concerns Elicit Expert Opinions)(Daniel M. Baer, MD)
January 1, 2004... Q I run a CLIA-waived lab in a small, suburban clinic. To perform controls on our incubator for strep cultures, I use 5% sheep's blood agar plates, S.agalactiae and S.pyogenes swabs to inoculate, and bacitracin discs. The incubator stays steady...

Environmental cultures.(Lab Concerns Elicit Expert Opinions)
January 1, 2004... Q Should a clinical microbiology lab in a community hospital be doing environmental cultures on specimens collected in the hospital? I am referring specifically to culturing of deionized water, swabs of cleaned whirlpools in physical therapy,...

Automated slide stainers for SS, IHC, and ISH: a review of current technologies and commercially available systems.(Lab Management)(special stains, immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization)
January 1, 2004... The following review is intended to educate the scientific community as a whole and the buying public, in particular, on various aspects of the automated slide-staining systems designed for histochemistry--or special stains (SS) as they are...

Controlling boss.(Dealing with a Controlling Boss)
January 1, 2004... Q I have a controlling boss to whom I have been reporting for the past year; previously, we were co-workers. My boss micromanages me. For example, I wanted to make a proposal to bring a new quality system to our large acute-care hospital. My...

Slide preparation aids accuracy.(Product Focus)
January 1, 2004... Attaining excellence in histological slide assessments is largely dependent on achieving excellence in the slide preparation and staining process. Whether using manual, semiautomated, or automated systems, the objective remains the same--to...

Desktop label printer.(Industry Spotlight)
January 1, 2004... A new addition, the K4100 desktop label printer incorporates thermal transfer print technology, two-line x 16-character LCD display, and prints six- to 72-point at 300-dpi resolution. Additional features include autosizing, quick response, fast...

Third-generation assays.(Industry Spotlight)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... The West Nile Virus (WNV) IgM Capture ELISA and West Nile Virus IgG ELISA are third-generation as-says developed to aid in the clinical laboratory diagnosis of WNV. Based on protein antibody technology licensed from the CDC, both products have...

Small footprint, wide-range.(Industry Spotlight)
January 1, 2004... The industry's first osmometer featuring onboard statistical analysis, test results storage and retrieval, and HIPAA-compliant sample identification protocol is the Advanced Model 3250 Single-Sample Osmometer. Its powerful Intel microprocessor...

Forced hot-air slide dryer.(Industry Spotlight)
January 1, 2004... A programmable temperature-controlled 12-slide processing system--the ThermoBrite--can be used as a fixed temperature slide warmer. The system allows users to program up to 40 temperature/time protocols and automates the denaturation and...

Indirect respiratory screen assay.(Industry Spotlight)
January 1, 2004... IMAGEN Respiratory Screen is a qualitative, indirect immunofluorescence test for the detection of RSV, influenza A virus, parainfluenza virus type 3, and adenovirus in respiratory specimens. It can also be used for the detection of RSV,...

New clot-detection feature.(Industry Spotlight)
January 1, 2004... The COBAS Integra 400 plus analyzer combines the convenience and simplicity of load-and-leave reagent cassettes, while offering both routine and STAT testing, including esoteric tests, such as lithium and serum proteins. Now with new clot...

Multiassay POC instrument.(Industry Spotlight)
January 1, 2004... Easily portable and rugged, NycoCard Reader II was designed for the small to moderate-sized point-of-care (POC) site and offers three ways to improve patient care with A1c, microalbumin, and CRP analytes, with a fourth assay, D-dimer, which...

Multiple sclerosis evaluation.(Industry Spotlight)
January 1, 2004... The Hydragel CSF IEF assay is now offered to assist in the clinical evaluation of suspected multiple sclerosis patients. Optimized, paired serum, and (unconcentrated) CSF samples are separated by isoelectric focusing on the HYDRASYS instrument....

Small footprint, larger features.(Industry Spotlight)
January 1, 2004... The new Sysmex CA-560 coagulation analyzer has automated clotting and chromogenic/immunologic detection capabilities available in complete random access. These onboard methodologies allow even small labs to carry out specialty testing, in...

Laboratory access: when to withdraw the "welcome mat".(Liability and the Lab)
January 1, 2004... Q Currently, there is a stream of visitors in the work area of our laboratory, including couriers from reference labs, sales reps, family members, employees "just visiting" from other departments, union representatives, and so on. Is there some...

Congress challenged to resolve severe medical lab personnel shortage.(Washington Report)
January 1, 2004... The United States faces a severe, problematic shortage of qualified laboratory personnel. Many rural areas and smaller hospitals find recruiting and retaining qualified laboratory personnel more and more troublesome. According to the American...

2004 editorial calendar.(Calendar)
January 1, 2004... 2004 editorial calendar ISSUE & CONTINUING CLINICAL CLOSING EDUCATION ISSUES JAN Gene-Based Testing CARDIAC MARKERS Dec. 1 for Infectious Coronary Heart Disease Diseases ...