FEATURE ARTICLES

Quality, convenience and timely support when needed are some of the reasons why staff in histopathology at Bath are reaping the benefits of automated ClearVue coverslipping from Thermo Scientific.

The World Health Organization is calling for increased efforts and investment to end one of the world’s oldest and deadliest diseases. But have we become complacent about the threat posed by TB in the UK? Are healthcare workers prepared for outbreaks, and what are they doing to protect themselves and their patients? Louise Frampton reports.

Peter Kelleher looks at a range of inflammatory conditions and considers the role that testing for anti-TNF drugs and neutralising antibodies can play in the care of patients with autoimmunity-related conditions.

Laurence Loï considers the latest on DOACs, and the importance of confidence in testing, which is now supported by the Stago Qualiris external quality assessment programme that includes the new DOAC assays.

Pathology and cancer leaders from the UK and across Europe met recently in London at a Philips Digital Pathology Workshop to learn how a Lean-based business tool can be used to build the case for digital pathology.

A small sample of research interest in the areas of haemostasis, calprotectin testing and immunohistochemistry to be found in the current literature.

Consultant haematologist Jonathan Pattinson reports from the UK NEQAS for Blood Coagulation annual scientific meeting, which drew international support from scientists, clinicians and contributors.

A small sample of research interest on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Lean management and cancer screening to be found in the current literature

Pathology in Practice speaks with Portsmouth Pathology Service’s Nathan Hunt and Beckman Coulter’s Tom Coulson about how Beckman smoothed the transition from a mature automation system to a modern Lean automation configuration to eliminate bottlenecks for consistent workflow.

A combination of three laboratory tests can help to identify rheumatoid arthritis patients sooner and enable clinicians to start tailored treatment promptly. Jason Cunningham provides an update and looks to the future.

Warnings that pathology services are unable to cope with demand are now national headlines. As pressure mounts, Dr Gene Elliott asks if decades-old car manufacturing ideas could now help laboratories support better patient outcomes, lower costs and meet hugely rising demand.

Contributors from Georgia, the UK, USA and Sweden made last year’s online Pathology 2016 event, organised by EuroSciCon, a truly international annual occasion.

Faecal immunochemical testing is the latest advance in the screening programme designed to identify patient with colorectal cancer, but success relies on the quality of the sample, as Matthew Davies explains.

Antimicrobial resistance is a major problem in 21st-century medicine, the unwarranted treatment of infant pharyngitis being just one contributing factor. This has now been addressed using a lateral-flow immunochromatographic cassette test.

Recent advances in technology and data science mean that there is more data about people, their habits and their health than ever before, but clinical utility cannot be fully realised without successful integration and analysis.

Patience Kapuya shares the results of a study of A&E clinician use of various POCT devices, comparability of results with the central laboratory, and the value of additional tests to speed decision-making in the emergency situation.

There is growing evidence to support the efficacy of disinfection with chlorine dioxide in the fight against healthcare-associated infections. One trust has achieved significant reductions in MRSA rates, resulting in major cost savings by implementing this disinfecting agent in its environmental cleaning process. Suzanne Callander and Louise Frampton report.

In this first of a series of articles on individual aspects of the assessment of uncertainty of measurement, Stephen MacDonald begins with consideration of the measurand.

Sarah Copsey-Mawer evaluates testing for glutamate dehydrogenase, toxin A/B and the tcdB gene, compared to the gold standards of toxigenic culture and cell cytotoxin neutralisation assay.

A small sample of research interest on Clostridium difficile infection, colorectal cancer and Mohs micrographic practice to be found in the current literature.