We have our AFB and fungus controls at the top of our patient slides.  We
have not had any problems with migrating bugs.


Jennifer MacDonald
San Antonio Community Hospital
Upland, CA  91786
(909) 985-2811 ext. 4148
jmacdonald@sach.org


> ----------
> From: 	Tom T. McNemar[SMTP:TMcNemar@lmhealth.org]
> Sent: 	Tuesday, March 21, 2000 7:12 AM
> To: 	Tapper, Sheila; Tom T. McNemar; Colbert, Laurie;
> 'histonet@pathology.swmed.edu'
> Subject: 	RE: Automation of Special Stains - QC
> 
> We have never considered that to be an issue.   I don't really see how
> that
> could happen when using tissue as a control.  Perhaps with a wet prep (we
> get these from micro for gram stain controls) but it seems highly unlikely
> that an organism embedded in a piece of tissue could dislodge and migrate.
> Even if it did, wouldn't it show up on the surface of the other tissue
> rather than as a part of it?  What do others think?
> 
> Tom Mc Nemar
> Pathology Supervisor
> Licking Memorial Hospital
> Newark, Ohio
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From:	Tapper, Sheila [SMTP:STapper@smdc.org]
> > Sent:	Monday, March 20, 2000 4:05 PM
> > To:	'Tom T. McNemar'; Colbert, Laurie; 'histonet@pathology.swmed.edu'
> > Subject:	RE: Automation of Special Stains - QC
> > 
> > Have you ever had trouble with microorganisms traveling from your
> positive
> > control to the patient tissue?  My pathologist refuses to allow
> > microorganism controls to be placed on the same slide, for fear that
> > something may contaminate the patient tissue.  
> > 
> > Sheila
> > 
> > 	-----Original Message-----
> > 	From:	Tom T. McNemar [SMTP:TMcNemar@lmhealth.org]
> > 	Sent:	Monday, March 20, 2000 10:26 AM
> > 	To:	Colbert, Laurie; 'histonet@pathology.swmed.edu'
> > 	Subject:	RE: Automation of Special Stains - QC
> > 
> > 	With regard to the question of positive/negative controls.....  In
> > our lab
> > 	we mount the positive control on the same slide as the patient.
> > This way
> > 	you always know that the control and patient were stained exactly
> > the same.
> > 	Granted, we go through a huge number of control blocks but so far
> > they have
> > 	been pretty easy to come by.  We buy special slides that have a red
> > box for
> > 	the control tissue.  It has worked well for us.
> > 	Tom Mc Nemar
> > 	Pathology Supervisor
> > 	Licking Memorial Hospital
> > 	Newark, Ohio
> > 
> > 
> > 	> -----Original Message-----
> > 	> From:	Colbert, Laurie [SMTP:LColbert@phsca.org]
> > 	> Sent:	Sunday, March 19, 2000 2:37 PM
> > 	> To:	'histonet@pathology.swmed.edu'
> > 	> Subject:	RE: Automation of Special Stains
> > 	> 
> > 	> In the past we used the Leica Autostainer to do some special
> > stains.  This
> > 	> worked well, but large amounts of reagent were needed to fill the
> > slide
> > 	> buckets on the stainer and the number of stains that could be
> > performed at
> > 	> one time was limited.
> > 	> 
> > 	> We now have two Cytologix stainers in our lab.  One was purchased
> > and one
> > 	> is
> > 	> on loan until Cytologix can improve on the turn-around time.  The
> > stains
> > 	> are
> > 	> really nice on this stainer, but there are a  few problems with
> > 	> consistency.
> > 	> The stainer can accommodate 48 slides at one time, but, as I
> > mentioned
> > 	> earlier, the turn-around time is not good when you have multiple
> > stains or
> > 	> multiple slides (more that 3 or 4) slides of one stain.  What is
> > really
> > 	> nice
> > 	> is that we can run stains overnight and they are ready to hand out
> > first
> > 	> thing in the morning.  So this aspect has improved our turn-around
> > time.
> > 	> 
> > 	> Cytologix is aware of the problems with their stainer, and they
> > are very
> > 	> receptive to any issue or problem we have had.  I think this is
> > going to
> > 	> be
> > 	> a really great stainer down the line when some of the bugs have
> > been
> > 	> worked
> > 	> out.  For now, we will continue work around the problems, and the
> > stainer
> > 	> really has saved us several times when we were short on people.
> > And I
> > 	> have
> > 	> to emphasize that their customer service has been good.
> > 	> 
> > 	> I may be opening a can of worms here, but I have a question in
> > regards to
> > 	> automation of stains.  I feel there is no real quality control on
> > the
> > 	> stainers that stain one slide at a time (vs. batch staining as on
> > the
> > 	> Leica
> > 	> Autostainer).  Sure, your control may be positive, but how do you
> > know the
> > 	> patient slide was stained properly when it is stained independent
> > of the
> > 	> control slide?  We have had our control slide come out negative,
> > but our
> > 	> patient was positive, so who's to say that this couldn't  happen
> > the other
> > 	> way around???
> > 	> 
> > 	> Laurie Colbert
> > 	> Saint Joseph Medical Center
> > 	> Burbank, CA
>