Hot Topic

In this month’s “Hot Topic,” Julia Lehman, M.D., will discuss a rare and potentially fatal mucocutaneous blistering disease that is often associated with an underlying malignancy, called paraneoplastic pemphigus. She will also discuss the specialized tissue and serum testing that is required to establish the diagnosis.

In this month’s “Hot Topic,” Rajiv Pruthi, M.B.B.S., will discuss different types of hemophilia along with their pathologic basis. He will also cover various types of factor assays such as one stage and chromogenic factor assays for diagnosis and their role in management of hemophilia.

In this month’s “Hot Topic,” Brad Karon, M.D., Ph.D., will cover the need and evidence behind following the order of draw recommendations for routine blood collection. Specifically, does evidence demonstrate a need to collect serum tubes before either potassium EDTA or citrate tubes?

In this month’s “Hot Topic,” Robin Patel, M.D., discusses how matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight (MALDI TOF) mass spectrometry works for bacterial identification, including the strengths and limitations of this technology. She also covers Mayo Clinic’s experience with the technology in the clinical laboratory.

In this month’s “Hot Topic,” a group of clinical laboratory technologists from Mayo Clinic’s Component Laboratory discusses a new tool to help standardize acceptable color variation for plasma products.

In this month’s “Hot Topic,” Robin Patel, M.D., will discuss the importance of accurate diagnosis of prosthetic-joint infection and its management, focusing on the pathogenesis, clinical presentation, and definition of arthroplasty failure, as well as discuss diagnostic strategies.

In this month’s “Hot Topic,” Robin Patel, M.D., will discuss the bacteria that cause pertussis, also known as whooping cough. Pertussis is highly contagious and spreads rapidly through families, schools, and hospitals. While adults and children may have relatively mild symptoms, the disease can be deadly for infants and newborns.

In this month’s “Hot Topic,” Brad Karon, M.D., Ph.D., describes how pseudohyperkalemia has many causes, from collection techniques, processing, and even transport. This presentation focuses on the various preanalytic and analytic causes of pseudohyperkalemia and what you as a phlebotomist can do to prevent it.