American journal of clinical pathology
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Am. J. Clin. Pathol. · Oct 2014
Comparative StudyThromboelastography is a suboptimal test for determination of the underlying cause of bleeding associated with cardiopulmonary bypass and may not predict a hypercoagulable state.
Patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) are at risk of bleeding. The goal of this investigation was to compare thromboelastography (TEG) with standard coagulation tests (prothrombin time [PT], partial thromboplastin time [PTT], fibrinogen, and D-dimer) in patients with active bleeding. ⋯ TEG had limited utility in identifying the underlying cause of bleeding and was not predictive of postoperative bleeding associated with cardiac surgery compared with conventional coagulation tests. A shortened TEG R time may not represent a hypercoagulable state.
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Am. J. Clin. Pathol. · Jul 2014
Erythrocyte fatty acids as potential biomarkers in the diagnosis of advanced lung adenocarcinoma, lung squamous cell carcinoma, and small cell lung cancer.
To analyze the fatty acid profiles of erythrocyte total lipids from patients with advanced squamous cell lung carcinoma (SCC), lung adenocarcinoma (ADC), and small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and benign lung diseases (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD] and asthma) to reveal the fatty acids that could be used as lung cancer biomarkers. ⋯ Fatty acids from erythrocyte total lipids might be used as diagnostic biomarkers of lung ADC, SCC, and SCLC. Their use in different aspects of the disease process needs to be explored.
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Team-based learning (TBL) has been integrated into undergraduate and medical education curricula in many institutions. However, TBL has not been widely introduced into postgraduate medical education. Our study aimed to measure the effect of TBL on promoting learning and teamwork in the setting of pathology residency training. ⋯ The use of TBL promotes teamwork and learning in a pathology residency program. Residents scored higher on the readiness assurance tests when working in teams, demonstrating the effectiveness of team learning and achievement. In addition, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education competencies of professionalism and interpersonal and communication skills were further enhanced by incorporating TBL into pathology residency training.
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Am. J. Clin. Pathol. · Jun 2014
Reducing blood utilization by implementation of a type-and-screen transfusion policy a single-institution experience.
The Blood Utilization Committee implemented a standardized protocol for the preoperative blood order for cardiac patients. The aim of our study was to assess the improvement in blood utilization using the crossmatch to transfusion ratio (C:T). ⋯ Implementing exact guidelines, with the introduction of a type-and-screen concept, allowed more efficient blood usage.