The world of medicine relies heavily on the skilled and knowledgeable hands of medical laboratory scientists. However, with globalization and a growing healthcare workforce, ensuring internationally trained scientists can seamlessly integrate into new environments is more critical and challenging than ever. For laboratory scientists in developing countries, obtaining certification can be a life-changing event. Beyond ..read more

Case History A 53 year old male presented to the emergency department with a one-day history of malaise, bilateral flank pain and decreased urine output. His past medical history was notable for decompensated cirrhosis due to alcohol use disorder complicated by esophageal varices and gastric ulcers, peritoneal ascites, several recent episodes of upper GI bleeding ..read more

When I think of Lab Week, I think of all the Lab Week celebrations we’ve had in the past: Food, games, from “Guess whose baby picture?” to word searches and coworker trivia, and of course, more food. I’ve seen the same games over and over, but with new coworkers they’re always fun. Probably the most ..read more

The field of laboratory safety is very obviously about the protection and well-being of those who work within the labs. The topics of study within this field typically include chemical hygiene, biohazard safety, and even emergency management. One area of focus that historically has not been discussed under the lab safety umbrella, though, is workplace ..read more

We’ve previously addressed the basics of gunshot wounds (see https://labmedicineblog.com/2023/09/22/the-ins-and-outs-of-gunshot-wounds/) but forensic pathologists need to be familiar with injuries inflicted by a variety of firearms. If you grew up in a rural area (like me) you are probably familiar with shotguns as a typical hunting tool. However, shotguns also have several unique characteristics which are crucial ..read more

Case description A 72 year-old male with severe aortic stenosis resulting in heart failure underwent aortic valve replacement and became febrile with mild shortness of breath on post-operative day one.  Additional pertinent medical history includes end-stage renal disease secondary to diabetic nephropathy with kidney transplantation seven months prior which was complicated by delayed graft function ..read more

Wouldn’t it be nice if the samples just magically appeared in the laboratory? Sometimes I wish we had a transporter like in Star Trek that could miraculously produce tubes in the rack already sorted and spun. The reality is, however, that we must rely on others to package and transport samples to the lab. Whether ..read more

A CBC was received on a 70-year-old surgical inpatient at our facility and was run in automated mode on our Sysmex XN analyzer. On the first run, the analyzer gave flags for RBC agglutination and MCHC >37.5. These flags require evaluation of the high MCHC with investigation of a cold agglutinin, lipemia or icterus. A ..read more

No one wants to be short-staffed. Cytology programs across the country are either closing or shifting to a Master’s-only degree (to finally reflect our expanded scope of responsibilities), and during the pandemic, it seems there was a mass exodus of retiring baby-boomer cytologists. We’re in a crisis to say the least. As a prominent clinical ..read more

What is the test? In the 1920s, the Greek physician Georgios Papanikolaou developed a method of cervical cancer screening, now reliably used and colloquially known as a “Pap smear”. During a Pap smear, a healthcare provider swabs cells from the cervix for further analysis by the lab​1​, including cytopathologic examination. Regular utility of Pap smears ..read more