Re: IHC cytology controls

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From:"Tim Morken" <timcdc@hotmail.com>
To:Histonet@pathology.swmed.edu
Reply-To:
Date:Thu, 23 Sep 1999 07:57:20 EDT
Content-Type:text/plain; format=flowed

Your control problem is common but you are missing one point. If your 
controls are in paraffin to begin with they are not "like" your cytology 
slides anyway, so any differences in treatment are irrelevent.

You need to do some parallel studies to show that your paraffin controls are 
suitable to control your cytology slides. Find cytology cases that are 
positive and do parallel staining runs treating each type of tissue/smear 
optimally. Also run slides with the "opposite" treatment to show 
differences. Compare results and document. this should give you the 
information you need to be confident that your paraffin controls are OK for 
cytology smears.

Ideally, of course, you would build up a stock of cytology controls to use.

Tim Morken, B.A., EMT(MSA), HTL(ASCP)
Infectious Disease Pathology
Centers for Disease Control
MS-G32
1600 Clifton Rd.
Atlanta, GA 30333
USA

email: tim9@cdc.gov
       timcdc@hotmail.com

Phone: (404) 639-3964
FAX:  (404)639-3043

----Original Message Follows----
From: "Carpenter, Judith A." <Jude.Carpenter@vtmednet.org>
To: "'NSH'" <Histonet@pathology.swmed.edu>
Subject: IHC cytology controls
Date: Wed, 22 Sep 1999 09:08:33 -0400

Hello good Histo people-

We need to know how folks are handling cytology slides for IHC.  We have
always
put the cytology test slides (thin preps, smears, etc) in with our surgical
slides (FFPE)
and done HIER (steamer) along with tissue controls for the cytologies.
Surgicals are
mounted on the control slide.
We realize that our cytologies are fixed in 95% ETOH and really don't
require the HIER
but as we only have tissue control slides we subject them to the same
treatment as
our FFPE controls.  To reduce any and all background in the cytologies we
have been told not
to do HIER on these slides.  Unfortunately we only have tissue controls and
these require HIER
which diniishes their value as true controls with cytologies that do not get
HIER.

  We really don't want to get into the daunting task of maintaining cyto 
prep
control slides if we don't have to.
Can any of you PLEASE contact me with how you handle cyto testing and
control slides ??
  Thanks very much-
Jude
Jude Carpenter,BS, HTL(ASCP)
Chief Technologist/Surgical Pathology/Histology/Autopsy
FAHC/MCHV Campus
111 Colchester Ave.
Burlington,   VT  05401
(802)656-5116
FAX : (802)656-3509
jude.carpenter@vtmednet.org










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