Hot Topic

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.

In this month’s “Hot Topic,” Elitza Theel, Ph.D., will discuss diagnostic testing options for patients with suspected neuroinvasive Lyme disease or Lyme neuroborreliosis.

In this month’s “Hot Topic,” Bobbi Pritt, M.D., will talk about the different ticks that commonly bite humans, where they can be found, and how to avoid them.

In this month’s “Hot Topic,” my colleagues, Dr. Katherine Geiersbach and Dr. Beiyun Chen, will provide information about the 2018 Focused Update of the ASCO/CAP guidelines for HER2 testing in breast cancer.

In this month’s two-part “Hot Topic” series, Joaquin Garcia, M.D., and Tiffany Mainella, HTL(ASCP), review the main components of training clinical laboratory staff and discuss how to ensure your trainers are capable of instructing them.