Medical Laboratory Observer articles from June 2004

Medical Laboratory Observer archives from June 2004

It's in the details.(From the Editor)(health care industry)
June 1, 2004... As I sat quietly taking notes throughout three days of experts' views of the impact of molecular diagnostics on the future of the laboratory, one remark deserved a double take: One day, machinery will do all of the work in the lab. ...

Environmental concerns.(Readers Respond)(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2004... We read with great interest the "Tips from the clinical experts" segment concerning environmental cultures [January 2004, p. 26]. We are involved with several hospitals that utilize our services for the analysis of environmental samples. Our...

Beg to differ.(Readers Respond)(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2004... I enjoy MLO, and I appreciate the well-written and interesting articles. I do have an issue with information that was included in your February 2004 editorial [p. 6]. specifically the statement: "Seven states and DC do not have at least one lab...

Blood-culture contamination tips.(Readers Respond)(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2004... Overall, the article "Controlling blood-culture contamination rates" by Dennis J. Ernst in the March 2004 issue of MLO [p. 14] was well written and addressed a challenge that we face daily in our laboratory. That is, how to structure a protocol...

Clarification.(Correction Notice)
June 1, 2004... Clarification: Under last month's Letters to the Editor, specifically "Calibration verification and CAP" [p. 6], CLA--the CAP group responsible for the laboratory accreditation program within the College of American Pathologists--was mistakenly...

Blood transfusions cause West Nile virus.(Bloodwork)(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Blood transfusions cause West Nile virus. Last year, despite screening of blood donations and removal of 818 of those donations, at least six people were infected through blood transfusions with the West Nile virus (WNV). The Centers for...

Blood proteins may warn of diabetes.(Bloodwork)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Blood proteins may warn of diabetes. The April 28, 2004, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association contains an article that indicates blood proteins causing artery damage may also be an early-warning sign of diabetes. The article...

Blood test for periodontal disease.(Bloodwork)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Blood test for periodontal disease. The Journal of Periodontology reports that, in the future, periodontal disease might be detected by a blood test. In a Japanese study, researchers tested the blood of 7,452 people. One of the study's...

Vets play role in infectious disease convergence.(News)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Vets play role in infectious disease convergence. Veterinarians play an increasing role in the detection of global diseases. About 75% of new infectious diseases originate from animals, including high-profile viruses like sudden acute...

2004 leadership nominations sought.(Awards)
June 1, 2004... 2004 leadership nominations sought. Washington G-2Reports announces its 2004 Laboratory Public Service National Leadership Award, an annual honor to recognize an individual who has made a significant contribution to the public interest through...

AACC press book available.(Education)
June 1, 2004... AACC Press book available. Christopher S. Frings of Chris Frings & Associates is an internationally known consultant and speaker on the topics of leadership, managing change, time management, reaching goals, and stress management. He also edits...

CLMA offers compliance training audio series.(Education)
June 1, 2004... CLMA offers compliance training audio series. CLMA presents the 2004 Compliance Officer Training Academy, a convenient and affordable audioconference series, with over six programs worth 9.0 contact hours. Program creator Christopher Young will...

Supporting future healthcare pros.(Education)(Vertical Alliance Group, Health Careers Foundation )(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Supporting future healthcare pros. NurseUniverse.com, a Vertical Alliance Group company and employee recruitment/retention portal for the nursing industry, recently announced the formation of a strategic alliance with Health Careers Foundation...

SARS reappears; cause investigated.(SARS)(Severe acute respiratory syndrome)
June 1, 2004... SARS reappears; cause investigated. The New England Journal of Medicine reported in April that the spread of the deadly SARS virus in a Hong Kong apartment complex last year was caused by virus particles attaching to microscopic airborne water...

Serological diagnosis of West Nile virus: West Nile virus transmission cycle.(Continuing Education)(Cover Story)
June 1, 2004... CONTINUING EDUCATION To earn CEUs, see test on page 18. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Upon completion of this article the reader will be able to: 1. Recognize the history, hosts, vector, epidemiology, and probable origin of West Nile...

Clarification.(Correction Notice)
June 1, 2004... Several readers of our May 2004 cover story, "Saving laboratory records: what, how, how long?" [p. 10] have brought to our attention errors in Table 2. Drs. Dan Baer and Robert Nakamura based the CAP recommendations on an older publication used...

AST and telepathology benefit labs.(Lab Management)(Automated specimen transport)
June 1, 2004... Automated specimen transport (AST) is becoming more practical and essential in today's laboratory environment for diagnosis, collaboration, and education. Telepathology, a form of AST, is the process of transforming slide specimens into...

FISH and genetics advance bladder-cancer diagnosis.(Clinical Issues)(fluorescence in situ hybridization, Oncogene CDC91L1)
June 1, 2004... In the United States, bladder cancer is the fourth most diagnosed malignancy for men, and the tenth most common for women. Despite the fact that diagnosis rates have leveled off over the past decade, bladder cancer is still of great concern to...

bioMerieux's Philippe Sans translates challenges into delivery.(Executive Forecast)(bioMerieux S.A.)(Interview)
June 1, 2004... Dottie Dunham: As one of the worldwide leaders in disease prevention, what global trends will influence bioMerieux's strategy over the next five years? Based on these trends, what significant challenges will your company face, and have you...

Addressing management issues.(Management Q & A)
June 1, 2004... Showing appreciation to lab team [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] We have 66 excellent, hardworking staff in our lab that hold themselves to a high standard of excellence and consistently deliver accurate results. We have several successful...

Test validation.(Answering Your Questions)(biomedical laboratories standards)
June 1, 2004... I have been a tech for 32 years, am of above-average intelligence, and I still do not understand CLIA's latest requirement for test validation. I have read Westgard's book, and have asked the pathologist, but no one seems to explain it...

Glucose higher in CSF than plasma.(Answering Your Questions)
June 1, 2004... I am an undergraduate student in a medical laboratory science honors degree program and am currently on assignment in Zimbabwe's largest government hospital. I am in the clinical chemistry lab, and the main analyzer used is the CX5 from...

Specimen re-draws.(Answering Your Questions)
June 1, 2004... We are trying to find a benchmark for the re-draw rate of laboratory specimens drawn by nursing personnel in a decentralized phlebotomy setting and submitted to laboratory for testing. The reason we reject specimens and request a re-collection...

MLO's gallery of experts presents key trends at CLMA 2004.(CLMA Wrap-Up)(Medical Laboratory Observer)(Clinical Laboratory Management Association)
June 1, 2004... Anne Pontius, MBA, CMPE, MT(ASCP), and a member of MLO's editorial advisory board, is president of Laboratory Compliance Consultants in Raleigh, NC. Pontius organized and chaired this year's CLMA's Executive Track panel supported by Medical...

Retention and ownership of blocks.(Liability and the Lab)(health care industry)
June 1, 2004... Who owns the tissue blocks and slides that are made from surgical specimens and cytological exams--the patient or the lab? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The "school solution" is that the physician who performed the procedure, the patient, and...

Patient care--the bottom line.(Product Focus)
June 1, 2004... Improving patient care is the bottom line when it comes to point-of-care (POC) testing. Diagnostics and equipment manufacturers continue to concentrate their efforts on developing new and improved technologies for this market. Of the many...

Ergonomic lab furniture.(Industry Spotlight)
June 1, 2004... Designed for simplified ordering and assembly, the "Quick Pick" system facilitates the ordering process from the company's starter and adder systems, allowing specifiers to order an entire workstation or racking system, inclusive of all...

Deep well-plate inserts.(Industry Spotlight)
June 1, 2004... Providing sample access down to 10 [micro]L, the unique, push-point designed, 0.7-mL and 1.0-mL Glass Tapered Inserts are available, assembled in 96 square deep-well polypropylene microplates. Both the inserts and plate can be autoclaved and...

Disposable hemacytometer.(Industry Spotlight)
June 1, 2004... For use with all manual cell-counting procedures, the disposable CELL_VU CBC Hemacytometer, performs complete blood counts on cerebrospinal fluid, sperm, urine, and blood samples. Consisting of a specially designed, dual-chambered glass slide...

Phlebotomy training videos.(Industry Spotlight)
June 1, 2004... "Applied Phlebotomy," a newly released three-part training video series is designed specifically for healthcare professionals who perform, supervise, and teach blood-collection procedures. Based on current NCCLS standards, the series qualifies...

Diagnostic aid for E coli.(Industry Spotlight)
June 1, 2004... The ImmunoCard STAT E-coli 0157 Plus (Clinical) is a 10-minute, one-step test for the detection of antigens from shiga toxin-producing E coli 0157 as an aid in the diagnosis of E coli 1057:H7 infection. The product can be used to test directly...

D-dimer positive control.(Industry Spotlight)
June 1, 2004... Developed for use with the Simplify D-dimer assay, the new Simplify D-dimer Positive Control contains a purified low molecular-weight D-dimer protein preparation in a buffered solution, which has been found nonreactive for HbsAG, HCV, HIV-1,...

Lab marking pen.(Industry Spotlight)
June 1, 2004... PathPen is a quick-drying permanent ink marker used for writing on microscope slides in histology, pathology, cytology, and hematology applications. This aqueous-based, long-life laboratory pen writes easily on glass, plastic, or paper...

Variable speed rotating mixer.(Industry Spotlight)
June 1, 2004... The Model RT10 Variable Speed Rotating Mixer is designed to mix 0.5-mL and 1.5-mL centrifuge tubes in an end-over-end motion, and 15-mL and 50-mL tubes in a horizontal rolling motion at speeds varying from 4 rpms to 40 rpms, using a simple knob...

Heated stage for motility analysis.(Industry Spotlight)
June 1, 2004... Easily attached to the stage of nearly any brand of microscope, the VARI--Warm Heated Stage is ideal for semen evaluation and motility analysis. The control unit, with easy-to-read digital screen, can be set for any temperature between...

Contaminant-free consumables.(Industry Spotlight)
June 1, 2004... The new ready-to-use Biopur pipette tips, ep-TIPS, and micro-centrifuge tubes offer a unique standard of purity, saving both time and work. This line of consumables has been molded and packaged to the highest level of purity and is guaranteed...

Quantitative determination of CA.(Industry Spotlight)
June 1, 2004... Recently FDA cleared, the Access BR Monitor, aids in the management of breast cancer by providing a quantitative determination of cancer antigen (CA) 15-3 levels in human serum and plasma. Using 10 [micro]L of sample for each test, first...

Updated line of fecal transports.(Industry Spotlight)
June 1, 2004... Fecal transport vials have been updated with color-coded caps and labels allowing for continual product identification, assuring correct specimen handling and processing. In addition, the new closed concentration system, Fecal Concentrator II,...

Critical inventory storage.(Industry Spotlight)
June 1, 2004... Featuring sophisticated control, alarm, and monitoring functionality, the Harris Classic Maximizer -85[degrees]C ultralow temperature freezer has been designed to store 20% more inventory without taking up additional floor space. This upright...

Western blot test kit.(Industry Spotlight)
June 1, 2004... The BBI Borrelia burgdorferi IgM and IgG Western Blot Test Kit is intended for use in testing human serum samples that have been found positive or equivocal using a first-line test. The test method separately detects IgM and IgG antibodies to B...

Innovative high-end POC solution.(Industry Spotlight)
June 1, 2004... Designed for high-volume POC/critical-care environments, the OMNI S is a complete blood-gas system with features that deliver time and cost efficiencies maximizing uptime and control, while offering a configurable blood-gas, electrolytes, and...

Innovation in proteomic imaging.(Industry Spotlight)
June 1, 2004... The new ProXPRESS 2D Proteomic Imaging System features an enhanced high-speed CCD-based imaging camera for significantly improved speed, sensitivity, and resolution. Using ProSCAN Image Acquisition and ProFINDER 2D gel Analysis software, the...

Salmonella/shigella differentiation.(Industry Spotlight)(EnteroScreen 4)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Recommended for use as a single-tube screen for nonlactose-fermenting, oxidase-negative, enteric pathogens isolated from stool specimens, the EnteroScreen 4 aids in the detection of Yersinia enterocolitica, Edwardsiella, Salmonella, and...

Random-access chemiluminescence.(Industry Spotlight)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Providing long walkaway times and continuous loading of barcoded samples and reagents, the LL4ISON Random-Access Chemiluminescent Analyzer offers a menu of over 60 assays, including hepatitis, infectious disease, bone/mineral metabolism, and...

A sixth-grader can do it.(Washington Report)(automated external defribrilator)(waived tests and their usage)
June 1, 2004... As I climbed into my neighbor's car, I nearly sat on his daughter's "Speak and Spell" toy; but it was, in fact, a portable automated external defribrilator (AED) his company sells. Would it shock me if I pushed the wrong button? "No" he...