scholarly journals Decrease in Enteroviral Meningitis - An Unexpected Benefit of COVID-19 Mitigation?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kami D Kies ◽  
Amber S Thomas ◽  
Matthew J Binnicker ◽  
Kelli L Bashynski ◽  
Robin Patel
Keyword(s):  
Cerebrospinal Fluid ◽  
Laboratory Testing ◽  
Clinical Microbiology ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Clinical Microbiology Laboratory ◽  
Microbiology Laboratory ◽  
Testing Data ◽  
Early Fall ◽  
Enteroviral Meningitis

Abstract Enteroviral meningitis is seasonal, typically exhibiting a rise in prevalence in late summer/early fall. Based on clinical microbiology laboratory testing data of cerebrospinal fluid, the expected August/September/October peak in enteroviral meningitis did not occur in 2020, possibly related to COVID-19 mitigation strategies.

scholarly journals Clinical Microbiology Is Growing Up: The Total Laboratory Automation Revolution

2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (5) ◽  
pp. 634-643 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam L Bailey ◽  
Nathan Ledeboer ◽  
Carey-Ann D Burnham
Keyword(s):  
Laboratory Testing ◽  
Clinical Microbiology ◽  
Turnaround Time ◽  
Automation System ◽  
Clinical Microbiology Laboratory ◽  
Laboratory Automation ◽  
Microbiology Laboratory ◽  
Total Laboratory Automation ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Automated Methods

Abstract BACKGROUND Historically, culture-based microbiology laboratory testing has relied on manual methods, and automated methods (such as those that have revolutionized clinical chemistry and hematology over the past several decades) were largely absent from the clinical microbiology laboratory. However, an increased demand for microbiology testing and standardization of sample-collection devices for microbiology culture, as well as a dwindling supply of microbiology technologists, has driven the adoption of automated methods for culture-based laboratory testing in clinical microbiology. CONTENT We describe systems currently enabling total laboratory automation (TLA) for culture-based microbiology testing. We describe the general components of a microbiology automation system and the various functions of these instruments. We then introduce the 2 most widely used systems currently on the market: Becton Dickinson's Kiestra TLA and Copan's WASPLab. We discuss the impact of TLA on metrics such as turnaround time and recovery of microorganisms, providing a review of the current literature and perspectives from laboratory directors, managers, and technical staff. Finally, we provide an outlook for future advances in TLA for microbiology with a focus on artificial intelligence for automated culture interpretation. SUMMARY TLA is playing an increasingly important role in clinical microbiology. Although challenges remain, TLA has great potential to affect laboratory efficiency, turnaround time, and the overall quality of culture-based microbiology testing.

scholarly journals Competency Assessment in the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory

2004 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 681-694 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan E. Sharp ◽  
B. Laurel Elder
Keyword(s):  
Laboratory Testing ◽  
Clinical Microbiology ◽  
Low Complexity ◽  
Competency Assessment ◽  
Clinical Microbiology Laboratory ◽  
Microbiology Laboratory ◽  
Know How ◽  
Technical Procedure ◽  
Areas Of Concern ◽  
To Receive

SUMMARY The laboratory comprises an invaluable part of the total health care provided to patients. Competency assessment is one method by which we can verify that our employees are competent to perform laboratory testing and report accurate and timely results. To derive the greatest benefit from the inclusion of competency assessment in the laboratory, we must be sure that we are addressing areas where our efforts can be best utilized to optimize patient care. To be competent, an employee must know how to perform a test, must have the ability to perform the test, must be able to perform the test properly without supervision, and know when there is a problem with the test that must be solved. In some cases, competency assessment protocols may demonstrate areas of competence but can fail to disclose incompetence. For example, challenges of low-complexity tasks (such as reading the technical procedure manual) are inferior to challenges that measure understanding and execution of a protocol, and poorly designed competency challenges will probably not detect substandard laboratory performance. Thus, if we are to receive the greatest benefit from our competency assessment programs, which may be time-consuming for the supervisors and the staff as well, we must not only meet the letter of the law but also find a way to make these assessments meaningful, instructive, and able to detect areas of concern. As we address competency assessment in our laboratories, we must understand that when done properly, competency assessment will reward our organizations and assist us in providing the best possible care to our patients.

scholarly journals Implementation and evaluation of a novel real-time multiplex assay for SARS-CoV-2: in-field learnings from a clinical microbiology laboratory

Pathology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 52 (7) ◽  
pp. 754-759 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eloise Williams ◽  
Katherine Bond ◽  
Brian Chong ◽  
Dawn Giltrap ◽  
Malcolm Eaton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Clinical Microbiology ◽  
Multiplex Assay ◽  
Clinical Microbiology Laboratory ◽  
Microbiology Laboratory

scholarly journals One Small Step for the Gram Stain, One Giant Leap for Clinical Microbiology

2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (6) ◽  
pp. 1416-1417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard B. Thomson
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Microbiology ◽  
Rapid Test ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
Clinical Microbiology Laboratory ◽  
Microbiology Laboratory ◽  
Gram Stain ◽  
Small Step ◽  
Link Type ◽  
Giant Leap

The Gram stain is one of the most commonly performed tests in the clinical microbiology laboratory, yet it is poorly controlled and lacks standardization. It was once the best rapid test in microbiology, but it is no longer trusted by many clinicians. The publication by Samuel et al. (J. Clin. Microbiol. 54:1442–1447, 2016,http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/JCM.03066-15) is a start for those who want to evaluate and improve Gram stain performance. In an age of emerging rapid molecular results, is the Gram stain still relevant? How should clinical microbiologists respond to the call to reduce Gram stain error rates?

scholarly journals Demonstration of Cord Formation by Rough Mycobacterium abscessus Variants: Implications for the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory: Fig. 1.

2011 ◽  
Vol 49 (6) ◽  
pp. 2293-2295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro Sánchez-Chardi ◽  
Francesc Olivares ◽  
Thomas F. Byrd ◽  
Esther Julián ◽  
Cecilia Brambilla ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Microbiology ◽  
Mycobacterium Abscessus ◽  
Clinical Microbiology Laboratory ◽  
Microbiology Laboratory

scholarly journals Experience with the use of microbiological analyzer BactoSCREEN in a routine practice of clinical microbiology laboratory

2020 ◽  
pp. 221-230
Author(s):  
Svetlana A. Gordeeva ◽  
A.Yu. Zolotarev ◽  
M.G. Movsisyan ◽  
A.V. Rozinko
Keyword(s):  
Species Identification ◽  
Clinical Microbiology ◽  
Objective Assessment ◽  
Maldi Ms ◽  
Routine Practice ◽  
Clinical Microbiology Laboratory ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Microbiology Laboratory ◽  
Staff Time ◽  
Wide Range

Objective. Assessment of bacterial identification effectiveness in clinical microbiology laboratory using the MALDI-MS based system BactoSCREEN. Materials and Methods. Bacteriological testing was done by the cultivation on Сolumbia agar with 5% of sheep blood (at 37°C for 24 hours). Colonies for identification were selected based on their growth pattern, type of hemolysis, morphology and consistency. The species identification was done by the MALDI-MS using the microbiology analyzer BactoSCREEN. Apart from MALDI-MS, we used morphology and biochemical methods for species identification when necessary. Serological tests were used for serovar and biovar identifications. Results. A total of 85945 bacterial identifications was performed in 2018. When compared to 2017, the throughput of the laboratory increased ten times. A total of 23252 isolates were obtained in the previously mentioned period. A single identification took 2.98–13.22 minutes including time for supporting procedures, whereas the staff time for one identification itself constituted an average of 1.55 minutes. When compared to manual methods, introduction of mass-spectrometry allowed us to achieve 3.5-fold decrease of the staff time in the average. Therefore, annual labor saving in terms of staffing corresponds to 11 full-time positions. Conclusions. In view of high throughput, analysis speed, simplicity and low cost of sample preparation, MALDI-MS identification fits well into the practice of clinical microbiology laboratory, especially when large-scale screening studies of bacterial cultures are required. The use of MALDI-MS is likely to be most promising when carrying out microbiological monitoring that is traditionally associated with large number of samples and wide range of microorganisms detected.

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