Catlab Reports Bulletin
Catlab publishes a monthly monographic bulletin addressed to our clients, and the public in general, related to a topic of interest to the Laboratory.
The Catlab Reports Bulletin is published monthly. It consists of a monograph related with laboratory topics. Each month it addresses a different area of Catlab; the topics can be more specific (concrete diagnostic techniques) or deal with more generic aspects (Quality, Management, …).
Bulletin Nº82 - June 2017
TUMOR MARKERS - New markers in prostate cancer.
Prostate cancer continues to be the most common in men, and PSA is the most commonly used marker. The low specificity of PSA in detecting cancer causes a large number of negative biopsies, and also does not help that it can not differentiate between lethal and non-lethal cancer. That is why, in recent multicenter studies, ProPSA (free PSA isoform) and phi index are being positioned as more specific markers.
Bulletin Nº81 - May 2017
BIOCHEMISTRY - Biomarkers for infection / sepsis.
The overall mortality in patients with sepsis is between 10-20%, between 20-50% in those with severe sepsis and between 40-80% in patients with septic shock. The immediate adoption of diagnostic-therapeutic decisions will directly affect the evolution, prognosis and survival, therefore, the availability of early and accurate biomarkers is key to effective clinical management of infections.
Bulletin Nº80 - April 2017
INFORMATION SYSTEMS - Lab Support Programs
Catlab has different computer support applications for the laboratory. The objective is to automate processes that were done manually or in paper, to manage them with greater speed and security, and to facilitate the accreditation of the laboratory. Some of these applications are the Catlab Incidence Program (PIC), which manages everything related to the pre-analytical incidents of Catlab, the GIN (Integral Management of Refrigerators), which is responsible to register and control the transport time of the refrigerators of the samples, or the GestLab, which manages different aspects of the data and needs of the workers.
Bulletin Nº79 - March 2017
CYTOGENETICS - Mutations in the FLT3 Gene and Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)
The FLT 3 receptor is found in the normal hematopoietic precursors of Bone marrow, and plays a key role in cell proliferation and survival. The gene encoding the FLT3 protein is located on chromosome 13 q12, and mutations in this gene occur with a high frequency in AML patients. The most frequent mutation is internal tandem duplication (FLT3-ITD). The most common mutation is internal tandem duplication (FLT3-ITD). This mutation is a poor prognostic factor in AML, and is associated with clinical progression and relapse.
Bulletin Nº78 - February 2017
MICROBIOLOGY - Incorporation of mass spectrometry in clinical microbiology
The Catlab Microbiology area has recently incorporated an advanced technology (MALDI-TOF) to identify bacteria and fungi in a few minutes, in contrast to conventional, very slow methods. It provides advantages in the management of the patient with sepsis, since the speed of information improves the quality of health care: it decreases the duration of empirical treatment, adjusts the administration of adequate antibiotics and reduces hospitalization times.
Bulletin Nº77 - January 2017
HEMATOLOGY - Quantification of Hemoglobin S in Catlab
Hemoglobin S is a beta-globin variant. It is a hereditary pathology and can be present in heterozygous and homozygous form, as well as combined with other mutations. The homozygous form is the most severe, and as a treatment, patients require frequent transfusions. In Catlab, Hemoglobin S can be quantified by two main methods: HPLC and electrophoresis.
Bulletin Nº75 - November 2016
HEMATOLOGY - The lupus anticoagulant in Catlab
The Lupus anticoagulant is a coagulation test in which the presence of antibodies that may interfere with phospholipid coagulation reactions and which are a risk factor for thromboembolic diseases. Through the study of the results of lupus Anticoagulants performed at Catlab, we have reached a series of conclusions and recommendations for its request.
Bulletin Nº74 - October 2016
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY - Apolipoprotein E genotype and Alzheimer's disease
Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) is a protein of 299 amino acids constituted by a single polypeptide chain. ApoE is involved in the transport of cholesterol and other lipids in various tissues. It is the major apolipoprotein expressed in brain tissue, mainly in neuroglia. Polymorphic variations ApoE locus act as inherited risk factors and genetic susceptibility affect Alzheimer's disease.
Bulletin Nº73 - September 2016
URGENT CARE - Hemolysis index calculation. Applications in Catlab
One of the clinical laboratory objectives is to inform biological values with high accuracy. Therefore, it must be guaranteed that samples are biological free from interference, such as hemolysis. In Catlab, rates of hemolysis informed by the manufacturer have been incorporated into computer systems laboratory, so that before an analytical result is validated, it will check whether the degree of hemolysis of the sample exceeds the threshold beyond which the result may be affected.
Bulletin Nº72 - July 2016
QUALITY - Customer satisfaction measure
During the years 2012-2015, Catlab has made a plan for measuring customer satisfaction; surveys have been conducted to different groups of primary care CST, HUMT and ICS. Here are the results of 8 consensual questions related to perception and assessment of the laboratory.