Transcript
Elizabeth McMahon
Keeping your lab at the leading edge of diagnostics. A sneak peek at the CAP's 2027 Proficiency Test and Quality Assessment Programs. Plus, proceed with caution. Why labs should be careful stewards when testing for blood clotting disorders. This is the Path News Network Daily Edition from the College of American Pathologists. I'm Elizabeth McMahon. It's Wednesday, July 22nd. Coming next month, the CAP is launching 10 new proficiency testing and external quality assessment programs for labs, including those addressing emerging infectious disease threats and diagnostic challenges. Among the new offerings are the Candida Oris screen, which detects an emerging multidrug-resistant fungal pathogen that has been associated with outbreaks in hospitals and long-term care settings. A tropical fever panel helps labs screen for multiple pathogens, including dengue, malaria, and other travel-related and tropical infectious diseases. The CAP's new programs also address advances in precision medicine and genomic testing. Stay tuned to Path News Network for more information about all of the CAP's new proficiency testing and external quality assessment programs available for customers in the CAP online store on August 24th. What's next for your lab? CAP experts are ready to talk 2027 proficiency tests, diagnostics, lab quality, and everything in between at the Association of Diagnostics and Laboratory Medicine Clinical Lab Expo starting July 28th in Anaheim. Stop by Booth 1935 to get a sneak peek of CAP's 2027 Proficiency Test Portfolio and other lab solutions. Connect with experts who can answer your questions and don't miss CAP member-led sessions on topics ranging from AI deployment in the lab to wearable devices for diagnostics. See you at ADLM this Saturday. When a patient develops blood clots, there's often a good explanation. Orthopedic surgery or immobility for long periods are common causes. But when clots appear unexpectedly, physicians may ask for thrombophilia tests for deficiencies of the anti-clotting proteins C and S. It's a request that pathologists and laboratorians must handle with care, says Dr. Chuck Eby, professor emeritus of pathology at Washington University in St. Louis. He's the lead author of the CAP's testing module on coagulation-based thrombophilia. The module is one of many under the CAP's test ordering program, which provides information about commonly misapplied lab tests. A small percentage of people are born with protein C and S deficiencies. Dr. Eby says that when physicians order thrombophilia tests, labs need to have important information before they proceed.
Dr. Chuck Eby
These are frequently abnormally low temporarily as part of the clotting process that's going on. And that could be totally misleading.
Elizabeth McMahon
The testing module takes lab staff through clinical conditions, careful considerations, and pitfalls common in thrombophilia testing. Dr. Eby says that pathologists should recommend the best clinical conditions and protein testing measurements to help reduce the chances of misdiagnosing a patient with an inherited deficiency.
Dr. Chuck Eby
It's an important decision to make.
Elizabeth McMahon
Epstein-Barr is a herpes virus that most people carry, though less than 1% of people develop MS, a chronic disease that leads to neurological complications. In the study, researchers focused on how the virus impacts CD4 plus T cells, a type of immune cell that may attack myelin, the sheath that insulates nerve fibers. In MS, memory B cells house the virus and present viral antigens to the C D4 plus T cells, triggering a response that degrades myelin. The researchers found that using medications to deplete B cells can significantly reduce that immune response. The findings boost hopes for the development of vaccines for the virus or medications that could treat or manage MS symptoms. The study was published this month in Science Translational Medicine. That does it for today's Daily Edition. Be sure to check the show notes for more information on today's stories. Got a story you'd like us to cover on the Daily Edition? Write to us at stories at Cap.org. We're back at 5 a.m. Eastern for another episode of the Daily Edition. I'm Elizabeth McMahon. Have a great day.