FEATURE ARTICLES

Investigations into recent outbreaks of Clostridium difficile infection have raised concerns in NHS trusts already facing many other pressures. Julie Elston discusses the importance and impact of C. difficile infection and the tests that are available to hospital laboratories for the rapid detection and monitoring of this potentially life-threatening hospital-acquired infection.

On the east coast of England, staff at James Paget Hospital are reaping the benefit of order-communications and automated systems that will ensure an efficient and smooth-running pathology service, now and into the future.

The embedded perception of histopathology processing as an overnight service is now under threat from a new breed of rapid sample processor, as exemplified by the latest Tissue-Tek Xpress system. Laboratory staff in Sheffield are now reaping the benefit of this advanced technology.

Laboratory staff need to be aware of the differences between individual thyroid function assays and the impact these can have on the monitoring of treatment for thyroid cancer and the detection of recurrent disease. Mark Stearman provides an overview of the current situation.

Important logistical and legislative issues are posed by lone working in pathology laboratories. Here, Barry Hill examines the issues and looks at one technology companyÆs innovative solution to the problem.

Monitoring of anticoagulant effect is an important facet of warfarin treatment. Now, patients who undergo regular international normalised ratio testing can reap the benefit of microcentrifugation, as Afruj Ali Ruf and his colleagues in West Yorkshire explain.

Restructuring and relocation of services are common threads in the tapestry that depicts 21st-century laboratory medicine. A recent exercise in the north-west of England demonstrates how these two great imposters can be achieved with the minimum of disruption to pathology services.

Emerging antimicrobial resistance and the battle against nosocomial infections continue to claim media headlines. However, Dade Behring, a Siemens company, has come to the aid of laboratory medicine by simplifying microorganism identification and sensitivity testing.

From converted school, through a room above a butcherÆs shop, to the former Bootle General Hospital, the premises occupied by Mast have been an eclectic mix of real estate. Likewise, this successful company has developed a diverse range of products over the past 50 years, as chairman John Oliver explains.

Work in The Netherlands and at hospitals in the UK demonstrates that screening is a very effective element of MRSA infection control and prevention. In the laboratory, however, Oxoid chromogenic media play a vital role, as James Beaves explains.

Once again, LondonÆs Docklands will play host this year to The Royal Microscopical SocietyÆs biennial microscopy and imaging event, where visitors will be able to see and test the very latest developments in microscopy and image analysis equipment.

The advent of capillary electrophoresis in the routine pathology laboratory brings with it the benefits of quantitative, fully automated analysis of proteins for the diagnosis and monitoring of disease, as Beth Storey explains.

An event such as the Biomedical Science Congress would be impossible to stage without the fulsome support of the commercial sector. At this yearÆs Congress the associated exhibition provided an intriguing insight into the future direction of laboratory medicine, as IBMS Council member Nick Kirk discovered.

With the recent announcement of Alan TrinderÆs forthcoming retirement as general manager for Olympus Diagnostic Systems, Pathology in Practice has taken the opportunity to talk with Alan and his successor, Steve Swanscott, about their experiences and views of the diagnostics market and of Olympus, past, present and future.

Automation is providing high-throughput laboratories with the ability to handle ever-increasing demands on their services. The Department of Laboratory Medicine in Southampton is one more laboratory that has benefited from Beckman CoulterÆs expertise in this area.

The biochemistry department at KentÆs Medway Maritime Hospital is reaping the rewards of a managed service contract with Siemens Medical Solutions Diagnostics. Here, staff talk about their experiences of a very successful implementation.

Every manager in cellular pathology experiences the demand for savings and the implementation of Lean management and Six Sigma; however, lack of money eats into morale. Solutions are proffered that may appear unwieldy, ill-organised, even unrealistic, and have no regard for the fact that a service has to be provided. Here, Sue Wollington provides an alternative solutions for the 21st century.

Managing quality issues in pathology laboratories rapidly has become a major concern for the profession. However, as Barry Hill reports, help is now at hand thanks to a new service available from the CDL Group.

The symptoms of norovirus-associated gastroenteritis are relatively mild compared to other gastric infections. However, a norovirus outbreak on a hospital ward, or on a cruise liner, can have serious consequences for patients, travellers and healthcare staff alike, and rapid diagnosis of outbreak cases permits early implementation of control measures and helps to contain the outbreak, as Barbara Fallowfield from Oxoid explains.

Nosocomial infection and antibiotic resistance are of considerable concern to healthcare authorities around the world. This was reflected by the 1st World Forum on Healthcare-Associated Infections, held earlier in the year in France, which was sponsored by bioMΘrieux.