FEATURE ARTICLES

Silvia Borras of NHS Grampian – part of the Scottish Strategic Network for Genomic Medicine – writes for Pathology in Practice, describing her laboratory’s experience of scaling up and automating its genetic testing for familial hypercholesterolaemia.

Hermione Blakiston and Erica Kantor warn that delayed diagnosis is having a negative impact on outcomes for women, while placing an increased strain on healthcare services. They look at the potential of promising biomarkers in closing the ‘diagnosis gap’.

The World Health Organization targets global elimination of hepatitis C by 2030, aiming for a 90% reduction in new cases and a 65% drop in mortality, and testing is pivotal to achieving this goal. Here, Pathology in Practice Science Editor Brian Nation looks at recent published work in this area.

Elena Cohen recounts the process of optimising and incorporating a challenging legacy macroprolactin assay, internal quality control and its subsequent verification ahead of implementation.

Donor-derived cell-free DNA monitoring is moving into routine use in UK transplant laboratories. Here, Stephanie Anderson reports from a recent event evaluating progress in this area and the wider field of genomics.

In this fourth article in his current series, Stephen MacDonald moves on to provide a guide to dealing with the results of statistical tests initially that look reassuring yet still hide a clinically important problem.

The last few years have seen huge strides in the development of in vitro diagnostics, with the expected associated changes in quality assurance, guidance and regulation. But, askes Lorna Ingoldsby, what happens when the evidence required by regulatory bodies does not match up with the realities faced in the laboratory

Stago’s sthemO 301 fully automated coagulation analyser, supported by the web-based data manager solution sthemE Manager, has transformed haemostasis at the Royal Sussex County Hospital.

While the move to digital pathology requires a large up-front investment; what is often not considered are the ongoing hidden costs associated with traditional glass-slide workflows. Ryan Davis examines the specific laboratory efficiency workflow costs that manual slide handling imposes, and explains why addressing these costs is not just capital expenditure argument.

Pneumococcal disease, caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae remains a serious health issue. Here, Carolyn Moonen and Markus Meyer examine how recent technological advances in identification of bacterial isolates and their serotypes are improving disease surveillance and treatment.

Epredia’s new SlideMate Thermal Slide Printer delivers on-demand slide printing and enhanced traceability for pathology laboratories.

Kevin Moore looks at the causes and consequences of pre analytical errors in phlebotomy and asks how the problem can be addressed.

In this third article in his series on statistics, Stephen MacDonald moves on to look at precision studies, focusing on issues such as their practical use, terms used, study design, and interpretation. Also included is a worked example and important take-home points for the reader.

The European Commission’s targeted revision proposal of the EU Medical Devices Regulation and In Vitro Diagnostic Regulation aims to bring urgently needed reforms to increase patient protection and trust in medical technologies. Here, trade association MedTech Europe assesses the changes.

Mycoplasma pneumoniae was one of the topics on the scientific programme of the recent BSMT Annual Microbiology Conference, a report on which appears in this issue. Here, Pathology in Practice Science Editor Brian Nation looks at other recent published work on this microorganism that lacks a cell wall.

In May, the British Society for Microbial Technology Annual Microbiology Conference returned to the RAF Museum in Hendon, North London. This 41st iteration since the BSMT was launched in 1985 offered delegates an eclectic scientific programme together with access to many of the leading microbiology companies. Here, members of the committee report.

The integration of molecular pathology into routine diagnostic practice has transformed the classification, diagnosis and management of neoplastic disease, a prime example of which can be found in neuropathology. Here, Eleanor Crossland explores the biological complexity of the glioma tumour microenvironment and examines the role of immune cells, molecular biomarkers and genetic testing in neuropathology.

Following their recent article in Pathology in Practice which proves the relationship between air contamination and surface contamination, Andrew Kemp and Denise Hanson ask how can this knowledge be used to improve cleaning, and reduce potential cross contamination and microbial resistance to disinfectants?

In this second article in his new series, Stephen MacDonald moves on to hypothesis testing. Here, he looks at statistical assumptions, study design and data quality, which are central to arriving at the correct decision about what test to run, if at all.

David Norcliffe, David Manuel and Bernie Benson examine the role of plasma viscosity as a diagnostic marker in sepsis and also plasma–serum viscosity ratio as a predictor of disseminated intravascular coagulation.