RECENT FEATURE ARTICLES

Mandy Campbell provides an overview of the value of using CRP with FBC testing at the point of care, with examples of how this application can impact on antibiotic use in paediatric emergency care, in a frailty assessment centre to prevent unnecessary admissions, and its impact on influenza diagnosis.

Obstetric cholestasis is a serious complication of pregnancy that can result in an increased risk of premature birth or even stillbirth. It is vital, therefore, that women with the disease are monitored carefully using the latest complete testing package.

The trial of a new procalcitonin assay from Beckman Coulter Diagnostics, undertaken in Portsmouth, is part of an initiative to reduce exposure to antimicrobial agents without a negative impact on patient survival.

Pressure on vital pathology services is mounting as populations age, chronic conditions increase in frequency and services become constrained by staff shortages. Here, Daniel Chapman discusses how to navigate the increasingly challenging diagnostics landscape, and what he and his team are doing to support evolution of pathology services.

A major step towards achieving faster and more accurate diagnosis was taken recently when the histopathology service in Leeds announced that it had gone digital, and now scans every slide produced. Here, different perspectives of the transformation are explored.

Lateral-flow assays have become a common feature across the breadth of in vitro diagnostics. While they are designed to offer a simple visual readout, on occasions weak reactions may cause uncertainty. This is where a lateral-flow reader can help, as Charlotte Duncan explains.

In this fourth article in a series on internal quality control, Stephen MacDonald moves on to define what standard individual assays are expected to achieve, and the impact of the components of total error.

When the blood sciences department at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust needed an end-to-end temperature monitoring solution, a solution provided by Checkit was just what the doctor ordered.

Human chorionic gonadotropin is the hormone detected in urine by modern-day point-of-care pregnancy tests. It is produced by syncytiotrophoblasts and, to a lesser extent, cytotrophoblasts in the developing placental tissue following implantation of a blastocyst in the endometrial lining of the uterus. However, a quick look through the current literature confirms that increased hCG level is much more than an indicator of developing life.

In the third in his series of articles on internal quality control, Stephen MacDonald continues his overview of process design with a look at defining process stability, setting target values, and how they should be used.

Antimicrobial resistance is a topic of which we should all be aware, and be actively seeking strategies to reduce use of antimicrobial drugs. Here, Kate Woodhead discusses how general awareness is not as good as it should be, and looks at Public Health England’s relaunched public awareness campaign with poster materials and leaflets.

The search for a universal blood product stretches back decades. Hear, Malcolm Needs looks at the various approaches used, and some prospects for the future.

In September, the thirteenth in the biennial Congress series will return to the International Convention Centre in Birmingham. The focus once again is on the very best that biomedical science and commercial colleagues have to offer. With the launch this month of the full programme, Pathology in Practice provides a brief preview of the event.

Founded in 1920, the National Collection of Type Cultures is the longest-established collection of its type, and serves as a UNESCO Microbial Resource Centre. Here, Ayuen Lual looks at its role and that of the three other important associated collections.

Bacterial sepsis is a major cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality, particularly in preterm babies. Can new rapid cytokine tests improve diagnosis over use of C-reactive protein alone and help reduce unnecessary antibiotic use? Here, John Rees provides an overview and update.

The term translational research is used to describe the application of discoveries made in the research laboratory to medical diagnosis and treatment. The ongoing story of the understanding of hepcidin is a good example of this process.

One of the uses of serum protein electrophoresis is in detecting a monoclonal gammopathy, the presence of which can indicate a range of related conditions associated with immunoglobulin production.

A new collaboration between the government and the life sciences industry aims to save tens of thousands of lives through pioneering research to detect deadly diseases as early as possible before symptoms appear.

Hepatitis C was first discovered in the 1980s and known initially as non-A, non-B hepatitis. It was identified properly in 1989, and in 1991 a screening process was developed making it possible to detect hepatitis C virus in blood samples. As a relatively new disease, there remain many aspects of hepatitis C which are yet to be fully understood, as the following selection of research efforts illustrate.

The latest cybersecurity systems designed by Stago aim to support and protect NHS pathology networks and facilitate real-time data retrieval, uploading, monitoring and sharing at any time, and from anywhere, with total security offering piece of mind.