Home >> ALL ISSUES >> 2015 Issues >> October 2015

October 2015

Put It on the Board, 10/15

Neuropathologist Dr. Omalu in spotlight at CAP ’15: Bennet Omalu, MD, MBA, MPH, who gave the spotlight event speech at CAP ’15 earlier this month, says he met retired Pittsburgh Steeler Mike Webster before conducting the 2002 autopsy that would lead to the first diagnosis of chronic traumatic encephalopathy in a National Football League player.

Read More »

NY cuts labs loose from requirement to use state’s PT

October 2015—With the New Year approaching, many laboratories that test New York state specimens can look forward to breathing a sigh of relief. Regulatory relief, that is. Thanks to a policy change by the state’s Clinical Laboratory Evaluation Program (CLEP), beginning Jan. 1, 2016, laboratories will still have to be inspected by the state, but can fill New York’s proficiency requirement with the proficiency tests of any organization to which the CMS has granted deemed status under CLIA.

Read More »

From the President’s Desk: First things first, 10/15

October 2015—As I mulled over the best way to begin my first column, two classes I had taken long ago came to mind. The first was part of an intensive undergraduate philosophy program at Stanford in 1978. The second, on organizational behavior, was part of a master’s program in health care management at Harvard 20 years later. In each case, I expected little more than a series of fuzzy discussions. Instead, the components I thought would be the lightest were the deepest.

Read More »

Automated molecular platforms — the latest on two dozen

October 2015—CAP TODAY’s automated molecular platforms product guide begins on page 31 and features 26 platforms from 18 companies. Faster turnaround times and higher throughput are among the capabilities that manufacturers are touting. New to the market is BioMérieux’s EasyStream, which was first installed in Europe in 2014 and sold in the U.S. this year. EliTech Group, new to the product guide, introduced its Elite InGenius this year.

Read More »

Groups urge phase-in of RHD genotyping

October 2015—It may not be quite like boxing frogs or herding cats. But gaining broad consensus on a laboratory medicine practice can be difficult, especially where multiple organizations must agree. A new joint statement on RHD genotyping by the CAP and the AABB, plus four other organizations, shows that such consensus is possible, however, even where it involves a laboratory medicine practice in place for more than 50 years—especially when advances in molecular testing are offering a solution to a problem.

Read More »

Newsbytes, 10/15

October 2015—A decade later, online laboratory handbook gets makeover: Ten years ago, when Massachusetts General Hospital created an online laboratory handbook, the event crowned many hours of programming and coding by a team of pathologists, who were convinced their labors would dramatically streamline access to information.

Read More »

Clinical Pathology Abstracts, 10/15

October 2015—Impact of a rapid respiratory panel test on patient outcomes: Studies have examined the impact of polymerase chain reaction tests on patient outcomes. Rapid detection in microbiology and virology allows more appropriate treatment sooner. This, in turn, can reduce hospital length of stay for patients with respiratory pathogens and may generate hospital savings.

Read More »

Anatomic Pathology Abstracts, 10/15

October 2015—CD117 expression in phyllodes tumors: correlation with adverse pathologic parameters. CD117 (c-Kit) is a type III receptor tyrosine kinase encoded by the KIT gene. Deregulation of expression and mutations in the gene are implicated in various tumors. Reports of CD117 expression in phyllodes tumors have generated controversy.

Read More »

Molecular Pathology Selected Abstracts, 10/15

October 2015—Mutation clearance after induction therapy in acute myeloid leukemia: After initial induction chemotherapy for acute myeloid leukemia, approximately 20 percent of patients fail to achieve complete remission, and approximately 50 percent experience relapse within one year. Therefore, it would be clinically useful to identify patients at higher risk of induction therapy failure or relapse.

Read More »

For now, first still last in primary HPV testing

October 2015—Not long after the FDA approved a primary HPV screening algorithm for women age 25 and older, in April 2014, things began to stir on the Western front—specifically, in Bellingham, Wash., where Northwest Pathology is based. “We started offering it pretty much right after the FDA approved it,” says Ryan Fortna, MD, PhD, director of molecular pathology at the regional, independent anatomic pathology group.

Read More »
CAP TODAY
X