-----Original Message-----
From: David Anderson <histomanual@hotmail.com>
To: histonet@pathology.swmed.edu <histonet@pathology.swmed.edu>
Date: Monday, September 11, 2000 10:39 AM
Subject: Renal biopsies


>Histonetters,
>I have two questions regarding renal biopsies and would like whatever
advice
>anyone can offer.
>1. We normally receive renals in Hank's transport medium and do the
>dissection in the lab. We've run out of Hank's and it could be weeks or
>months before we get more, if at all. The clinics are now sending renals in
>bottles of normal saline. It would obviously be better if they were placed
>on saline moistened gauze, but no one in our lab's heirarchy knows,
>understands, or cares, so the clinics have never been given any guidance
>from Pathology. Will 15-20 minutes in normal saline adversely affect the
>tissue?
>
>2. Last week, we received (in saline) a renal from a patient with known TB.
>Today, we got a positive AFB stain on that specimen. We don't have a
>biological fume hood - the dissecting microscope probably wouldn't fit
>inside anyway, so we're examining these specimens in an open room on an
open
>bench. How much danger are we in? Our chief pathologist insists there is no
>risk at all. "You can't catch TB that way" were his exact words. We're not
>so sure. The tech who evaluated the biopsy took what precautions he could -
>gloves, gown, and mask - but we're still very uncomfortable with this
>situation. TB is common here and nobody wants to take unnecessary chances.
>If anyone has any opinions or ideas, we'd love to hear them.
>
>David Anderson
>Riyadh Armed Forces Hospital
>Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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