Clinical laboratory science : journal of the American Society for Medical Technology最新文献

The current economic and regulatory healthcare climate benefits from the roles described for medical laboratory scientists and technician. These roles achieve high quality, cost-effective assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease to meet the needs of a changing healthcare environment.

Hemolyzed specimens continue to cost the laboratory time and money. However, the core laboratory at Georgia Regents Health System, Inc. has instituted a novel approach to managing this problem. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the laboratory's new approach had a significant impact on the turn-around time (TAT) and cost of processing hemolyzed and non-hemolyzed specimens in the laboratory. The investigators queried the laboratory information systems for hemolyzed and non-hemolyzed specimens categorized as routine or STAT from the core laboratory and calculated statistical differences between the groups with respect to TAT and cost.The investigators found a statistically significant difference in the time it takes to process STAT hemolyzed specimens versus non-hemolyzed specimens with the new approach. Because of the new approach, hemolyzed specimens were actually processed as fast as, or faster than non-hemolyzed specimens in the core laboratory.

Ketoacidosis is a metabolic condition that occurs as a result of an insufficient amount of insulin. The lack of insulin results in an increased release of glucose from the liver and an excess of ketone bodies as a result of the breakdown of adipose tissue. This occurs when carbohydrates are unable to be properly processed for needed energy requirements during cellular metabolism. Ketoacidosis is commonly linked to diabetes mellitus. Diabetes mellitus is a condition where the body is unable to produce the proper amount of insulin or is unable to effectively respond to insulin stimulation. Excessive alcohol use can damage the pancreas, reducing insulin secretion. Other conditions such as pneumonia or urinary tract infections can trigger the release of counter-regulatory hormones that may contribute to the decrease in insulin's activity and secretion. Symptoms of diabetic ketoacidosis often include nausea and vomiting, increased thirst and urine production, hyperglycemia, abdominal pain, shortness of breath, confusion, headache, general weakness, fatigue and increased heart rate. If left untreated, diabetic ketoacidosis can lead to more serious complications including circulatory collapse, decreased blood potassium levels, infection and cerebral edema. The following case study presents a complex condition of ketoacidosis associated with a bacterial infection compounded by the patient's history of alcohol abuse.

Multiple studies have been performed on a variety of substances, often producing contradictory results. Meta-analysis has provided a means of evaluating these disparate results, combining them into a summary statistic. Using continuous data for baseline and one sample point, several studies were evaluated to achieve a single result, demonstrating the meta-analysis evaluation process.

Anaphylactoid Syndrome of Pregnancy (ASP) is a rare complication of delivery in mother and/or infant during the process of birth. Known as either Anaphylactoid Syndrome of Pregnancy or Amniotic Fluid Embolism, the maternal mortality rate worldwide for this complication is between 10 and 16% while the fetal mortality rate is upwards of 30%. The majority of maternal survivors are expected to have long - term neurologic deficit. While the majority of infants will survive, the majority will also incur some form of neurologic defect. This report is of a case in which both the mother and infant survived with discharge occurring at eleven days for the mother and eighteen days for the infant.

Evidence based practice (EBP) can be incorporated into the curriculum of Medical Laboratory Science (MLS) Programs. Current components of curriculum can include EBP in pre-analytic, analytic, and post-analytic topics. Discussion of EBP topics in the classroom using practices assessed through the Laboratory Medicine Best Practices Initiative (LMBP) of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will give students a clear understanding of EBP and how it is used in the clinical laboratory for improved health care quality. Student involvement in Quality Improvement projects to improve laboratory performance and patient outcomes can be developed through capstone projects. Examples of clinical projects and application of EBP into the MLS curriculum are discussed.