FEATURE ARTICLES

As the pathologist workforce shrinks and workload increases, laboratory medicine is beginning to adopt advanced technology and robust AI solutions. Nathan Buchbinder and Scott Rayburn explain how digital solutions can change practice in pathology and the life sciences.

Group B Streptococcus is the most common cause of severe infection in newborn babies in the UK. Despite a risk-based prevention strategy for early-onset infection, in place since 2002, rates have increased significantly.

Do hand sanitisers really work against viruses? Andrew Kemp and colleagues introduce a new methodology for testing the efficacy of disinfectants and sanitisers on surfaces and on the skin against viral isolates.

The advanced enzyme cycling method for bile acids offers increased sensitivity and precision when compared to traditional enzymatic tests, as illustrated by its use in obstetric cholestasis diagnosis and monitoring.

In terms of scope and geography, veterinary pathology in the field is an activity of wide horizons. In this review of a visit to Kenya, Margaret and John Cooper describe how they are committed to training the next generation of veterinary workers in East Africa.

Surgical site infection continues to be a major source of concern to patients and the multidisciplinary teams involved in surgery. Sadly, however, evidence-based practice to reduce such infections is often slow to be implemented, as Kate Woodhead explains.

Recent national news focused on the role that cell-free DNA (cfDNA) testing may have in detecting many different types of cancer. Here, a small selection from the current literature highlights future possibilities and some potential problems.

Over the past decade, infections caused by coronaviruses have resulted in severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome. Now, a new coronavirus is causing worldwide concern, and is exercising the research community, as this small selection of very recently published articles illustrates.

Although often taken for granted, modern glass microscope slides, their characteristics and features can have an impact on test performance, diagnosis and laboratory workflow. Here, Mark Wilson looks at some of the features offered by Epredia products.

Clinical flow cytometry continues to feature in an eclectic range of applications in routine laboratory medicine and in the research environment. In addition to its use in haematology and immunology, flow cytometry has a cutting-edge role in investigating diverse biological processes, and the latest system developments offer innovation and increasing ease of use.

Point-of-care testing is finding ever greater application outside the conventional medical laboratory. Here, audit of the use of phase contrast urine microscopy in paediatrics is explored in terms of training and quality, as Michelle Payne and Vikki Booth explain.

Alexander Mobbs and colleagues examine the effect that pre-analytical delay may have on the subsequent processing of blood cultures, and compare results obtained from two hospitals – one with an on-site laboratory, the other remote from the pathology service.

There is a surprising, yet cost-effective tool on the market that offers a solution to the issue of labelling tissue samples during the embedding process. And it is one that might remind you of days gone by, as Nicola Forsdyke explains.

The increasing prevalence of antimicrobial resistance and the burden of disease due to hospital-associated pneumonia prompted Emma Jones and colleagues to investigate a molecular alternative to microbiological culture.

Following the two-part review of the comprehensive IBMS Biomedical Science Congress scientific lecture programme, published in the October and December issues, Pathology in Practice now turns the spotlight on other equally important areas of the laboratory service.

Cardiac biomarker assays are an important feature of laboratory support of patients attending the accident and emergency department. Their use and harmonisation remain a focus of attention and new insights may change the perceived value of these markers.

Mark Wilks looks forward to the 35th Annual Scientific Conference of the British Society for Microbial Technology, which is due to take place on Thursday 14 May at the Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon, in north London.

In this final article in his series focusing on internal quality control, Stephen MacDonald concludes by providing an overview of the methods used in troubleshooting the causes of QC failures when they are detected.

Summaries of lectures on the comprehensive IBMS Biomedical Science Congress scientific lecture programme are requested from individual speakers. In this final review, Pathology in Practice selects programme highlights from alphabetically laboratory accreditation to virology.

Crystal Garae and colleagues report on validation of the EasyScreen Flavivirus/Alphavirus Detection Kit and its application during the 2016–17 outbreak of dengue virus infection across the islands of Vanuatu.