pathology – Page 21 – Lablogatory

Regulatory Inspections: Are You Ready?

Whether your laboratory is accredited by CAP, COLA, JCAHO, or simply adheres to local state and federal CLIA regulations, all laboratories are subject to regular inspections from their accrediting agencies. Normally the thought of an inspection places staff into panic or hiding mode (“Whew, glad I’ll be off that week!”), but if you prepare ahead of time, the inspection process can be an extremely valuable tool to access the overall quality of your laboratory program. Over the next 3 blog posts we’ll review tips on 1) how to prepare before your inspection, 2) what to expect during the inspection itself, and 3) how to address any deficiencies identified by the inspection team.

Part One: The Inspectors Are Coming!

Know the Regulations. As technology evolves and new laboratory methodology is introduced, the requirements for your respective regulatory agencies will be updated as well. Know what version of your checklists or standards you will be getting inspected on, and ensure all staff are familiar with any updates and changes. By engaging all staff in the inspection process from lab assistants up through management, everyone will be aware of what the requirements are and can actively participate to ensure the lab is meeting those requirements.

Focus on Previous Citations. Your inspectors will have access to your previous inspection results, and will be following up on any citations. Ensure that the corrective actions and preventive actions you said you were going to implement have actually gone into effect. For any procedural changes, have documentation (Read & Understand) ready to show that all staff were made aware of and have been trained on the changes. Make sure that those corrections have been sustained and are effective at addressing the noted citation. It’s great to add on new forms to document instrument maintenance – but not if your staff doesn’t have the time to complete them. Again, engage your staff to see what is working, and what needs to be reevaluated.

What is New? New regulatory requirements, new staffing, new instruments, new testing methodologies… These are all key areas that the inspectors will focus on. Have you kept current with your regulatory updates and implemented any necessary changes to address the new requirements? Do you have documented training and competency for each new staff member for each task they are performing? For new instruments, ensure they have been fully validated and correlated to similar instruments prior to being placed into use for patient testing. When adding on new tests, ensure you have a full validation summary with medical director approval and sign off, and that your testing activity menu has been updated as well.

Have a Plan. Depending upon the size and scope of your laboratory, there can be a lot to cover for your inspection preparations. If you wait until your inspection window opens to start getting ready, things will be overlooked or simple “quick fixes” will be implemented instead of finding a long term sustainable solution to any potential issues. Instead, schedule tasks throughout the year to continually review your quality assurance program. Ask management to review 3 – 5 SOPs each month for content (does SOP match the current manufacturer package insert, does SOP match current practice in use), rather than a mass annual sign off. Perform quarterly reviews of your maintenance documentation to ensure all logs have been filled out completely with corrective action documented when appropriate. Utilize calendar reminders to track proficiency testing sample results, and ensure proper follow-up for any non-satisfactory results.

Perform Meaningful Self-Audits. For most regulatory agencies, performing self-audits on your non-inspection years is a requirement. Make this task meaningful by using a fresh set of eyes to review your documents. Ask the hematology staff to inspect the chemistry department; chemistry to inspect urinalysis; urinalysis to inspect microbiology…. You don’t need to understand how to actually perform a specific weekly maintenance task on a particular instrument; you just need to ensure that all those weekly tasks have been documented every 7 days (or less). You don’t need to understand what reagent ‘XYZ’ is used for, you just need to ensure that the vial is properly labeled with an open and expiration date, and that it is not currently expired and still being used. Self-audits should not be punitive; they are meant to catch things that you may be taking for granted are compliant, when in fact they truly are not.

Stay tuned for part 2 coming out next month, where we’ll discuss the inspection process itself and what to expect from the inspection team.

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-Kyle Nevins, MS, MLS(ASCP)^CM is one of ASCP’s 2018 Top 5 in the 40 Under Forty recognition program. She has worked in the medical laboratory profession for over 18 years. In her current position, she transitions between performing laboratory audits across the entire Northwell Health System on Long Island, NY, consulting for at-risk laboratories outside of Northwell Health, bringing laboratories up to regulatory standards, and acting as supervisor and mentor in labs with management gaps.

A Response to “Offline: Why has global health forgotten cancer?”

I read with great interest Richard Horton’s comment, “Offline: Why has global health forgotten cancer?” ASCP applauds his bringing light to this issue and his strong call to action for both the global health community and governments to take up the challenge of dealing with cancer. There is no doubt that the world needs a “Global Fund for Cancer” or the “President’s Emergency Plan for Cancer.” There is no question on what those funds could be spent—

prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer has been well worked out in high-income countries (HIC). There is definitely a question of how best to spend those funds, what is the most effective approach in a given population, and what special circumstances exist in a population that must be considered. We thank him for shouting about this and being so direct and for using the Lancet as a platform for this important message.

We would like to clarify, however, that Richard is certainly not the first person to shout this call (and hopefully he will not be the last!). Please review the 17 references below; one of the earliest was authored by pathologists and appeared in Lancet in 2012. In addition, the three most recent were from a Lancet Series. When I was in Malawi working in a diagnostic laboratory in 2000, more than 75% of what I saw was cancer. Although, at the time, a lot of cases found their etiology in untreated HIV. My senior colleagues told me I was wasting my time because there was “no way to treat cancer in Africa.” As I continued to visit Malawi over the next 15 years, the percentage of cases that were cancers increased. The HIV-related cancers decreased. Lung cancer never crossed the scope because there were no resources to biopsy or resect patients; yet, lung cancer was a leading cause of death in cancer registries. Today, the limited oncologists in Blantyre are overwhelmed by breast cancer cases. A similar story is found in Butaro, Rwanda and Mirebalais, Haiti.

But in all three places, patients can access a diagnosis because pathology services have been installed, bolstered, or maintained through commitments of NGOs, academic institutions, and governments. More importantly, they have access to treatment because oncologists and oncology nurses have joined the fight against cancer in global health in these units. There are many organizations in the United States and around the world that focus on cancer in low- and middle-income (LMIC) countries including (but not limited to) ASCP, PIH, UICC, ACS, CHAI, BVGH, ICCP, ICCR, NIH, APECSA, ASLM, ASCO, and, yes, the WHO. Do all of these organizations need more resources to make their missions more effective? Absolutely! Do more organizations need to join the fight? Absolutely! But, even with limited resources, huge progress can be made for individuals and populations.

In his comment, Richard points out two arguments used to explain why global health has forgotten cancer. The first is that cancer is not a statistical priority in LMICs. This is actually untrue. Advances in treatment for communicable diseases, especially HIV, have “unmasked” cancer in every one of these nations with clear evidence that many are preventable, many are curable, and many require palliative care. Mortality in Africa from cancer reaches 80% compared with only 35% for all cancers in the US. We clearly have a goal to focus on in mortality reduction with measurable targets. The WHO has announced a cancer resolution at the World Health Assembly. National Cancer Control Plans have been written for most LMICs. The stage is set for any one or all LMICs to develop, build, and expand cancer centers of excellence with people in and out of those countries eager to help. What is missing is not desire or resolve. What is missing is funding. And in this challenge, we find an actual barrier for advancing cancer care. Many organizations are drunk with funding for infectious diseases. They have no experience with cancer and no capacity to tackle it. If funding were suddenly diverted from these communicable disease organizations (CDO) to NCD organizations that could deal with cancer, many CDOs would have to close their doors. And millions would suffer at the loss of infrastructure and capacity that these organizations have created. But THAT is the ultimate barrier—the assumption that we have to divert funding. We don’t need to move funding from one program to another. We must find creative ways to finance cancer for every patient everywhere around the world.

Richard second points out that global health people tout “building systems” rather than focusing on specific cancer types (e.g., breast or cervix) as an excuse to not start cancer care. However, this is not accurate because a) health systems ARE needed to treat cancer and b) it is impossible to treat a single entity cancer and maintain an ethical program. For example, focusing on breast cancer or cervical cancer “first” or “only” is highly unethical because all the tools for those cancers also allow one to partially move a non-breast/non-cervical cancer patient through the system (the main difference being the chemotherapy types used). I do not disagree with the concept of “you have to start somewhere” but, if we think back to HIV and malaria, there is a precedent for why this is a flawed approach. HIV was a single test that diagnosed a single disease but the pre-test probability was high (since very few things looked like HIV at the height of the epidemic). RDTs for malaria were a single test that diagnosed a single disease but the pre-test probability was medium (many things look like malaria that are not). But we focused on HIV diagnosis and treatment and we focused on malaria diagnosis and treatment. Now we have HIV patients who are doing great—and getting cancer. We have malaria patients that are doing great with RDTs and ACTs—but any child with a fever of another cause probably dies. If you ask anyone with an understanding of biology or epidemiology to look at the history of the HIV epidemic or malaria in the modern age, they would all predict these findings. It’s not an epiphany…it was deliberate ignorance. Building systems is hard but it IS the answer. So, I 100% disagree with Richard that treating a single cancer will have an impact beyond those few patients that benefit from that disease. Do those patients with a specific cancer deserve treatment? Of course! But so do patients with all cancers. So, the answer IS still systems.

In order to treat cancer, clinicians must have a pathological diagnosis. For example, if clinicians decided that they would by assumption treat all women with Stage 4 breast cancer in Peru (with positive lymph nodes on palpation), 20% of patients would actually have tuberculosis. But a % of the patients will also have metastasis from other tumor types (such as lymphoma, benign lesions, and soft tissue tumors). If we provide chemotherapy for invasive ductal carcinoma and a pathology service to biopsy the patients to prove the diagnosis, what do we do with those that don’t actually have invasive ductal cancer? How is that ethical? Once we expand our breast tumor regiment to cover all tumors that MAY occur in the breast, now we must treat patients that have those tumors in other locations, otherwise we are in an ethical nightmare.

At the heart of this issue is the pathological diagnosis. There is no treatment without a pathological diagnosis and, once you have the ability to make a pathological diagnosis, there is not justifiable excuse for not treating patients who present with any cancer. The curse of a tissue biopsy processed for histology is that it is one test with, literally, thousands of possible results. Remember HIV and Malaria? They are each one test with one actionable result. A histology slide can present thousands of actionable results! So, no, it is not possible within an ethical construct of healthcare or within a paradigm of equity to focus on one cancer. We can deploy thousands of oncologists and nurses across LMICs with truckloads of every chemotherapy known to humankind and there would be NO IMPACT—absolutely none—unless every patient was pathologically diagnosed before treatment was begun. Surgeons could enter a country and remove every breast with a lump in it—the number of women with inappropriate surgical treatment would result in criminal charges. Pathology is the central tool for diagnosing cancer and creating an appropriate treatment plan, but it is also a single tool that can diagnose EVERY cancer so we must be able to fulfill every appropriate treatment plan.

It is for this reason that PIH with assistance from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital began diagnosing and treating patients in Haiti, Lesotho, and Rwanda in 2005 with cancer. By 2011, the trickle of patients that would find their way to PIH clinics had become a flood. It was now necessary to not only build pathology laboratories in countries that could handle the volume and range of diagnoses but also import nurses and oncologists to formulate and run programs. Before the pathology laboratory was built in Butaro, Rwanda, patients may have waited for up to 6 months (if ever) to receive a result which may have been incomplete or inaccurate due to the limitation of staffing. In Butaro today, after the construction of a laboratory, training of staff, addition of immunohistochemistry, installation of telepathology, and residence of a permanent Rwandan pathologist, the turnaround time is < 72 hours. There are other success stories like this but these systems need to be replicated within country and in other countries at a rate of at least one cancer treatment center per 5 million people or less. And, as Richard rightly points out, these centers need to have resources to treat every patient.

ASCP has been in the global health arena working with PEPFAR since its inception. In 2015, ASCP launched Partners for Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment in Africa (including Haiti) which was built on the premise that telepathology would be a key tool to diagnose patients more rapidly and accurate in LMICs. Butaro, Rwanda was the first site to receive telepathology with ASCP but there were many examples of other labs with telepathology in place prior to that; however, the bulk of them were focused on single-entity or research-based programs. The ASCP program starts with the premise that the site where telepathology is placed plans to treat all cancers that are diagnosed. Thus, ASCP requires that a system for cancer care is at least planned or in process. So, the old adage, “you have to start somewhere” is great but, for cancer, that first start must be the provision of pathology services. The ethical framework that follows will require that all cancer move into the realm of treatment.

Again, ASCP thanks Richard Horton for bringing this issue up with the Lancet audience and ASCP hopes that we, all shouting together, can move the needle much further along towards funding for cancer across the systems spectrum.

References

Horton S, Sullivan R, Flanigan J, Fleming KA, Kuti MA, Looi LM, Pai SA, Lawler M. Delivering modern, high-quality, affordable pathology and laboratory medicine to low-income and middle-income countries: a call to action. Lancet. 2018 May 12;391(10133):1953-1964. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)30460-4. Epub 2018 Mar 15. Review. PubMed PMID: 29550030.
Sayed S, Cherniak W, Lawler M, Tan SY, El Sadr W, Wolf N, Silkensen S, Brand N, Looi LM, Pai SA, Wilson ML, Milner D, Flanigan J, Fleming KA. Improving pathology and laboratory medicine in low-income and middle-income countries: roadmap to solutions. Lancet. 2018 May 12;391(10133):1939-1952. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)30459-8. Epub 2018 Mar 15. Review. PubMed PMID: 29550027.
Wilson ML, Fleming KA, Kuti MA, Looi LM, Lago N, Ru K. Access to pathology and laboratory medicine services: a crucial gap. Lancet. 2018 May 12;391(10133):1927-1938. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)30458-6. Epub 2018 Mar 15. Review. PubMed PMID: 29550029.
Sayed S, Cherniak W, Lawler M, Tan SY, El Sadr W, Wolf N, Silkensen S, Brand N, Looi LM, Pai SA, Wilson ML, Milner D, Flanigan J, Fleming KA. Improving pathology and laboratory medicine in low-income and middle-income countries: roadmap to solutions. Lancet. 2018 May 12;391(10133):1939-1952. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)30459-8. Epub 2018 Mar 15. Review. PubMed PMID: 29550027.
Milner DA Jr. Pathology: Central and Essential. Clin Lab Med. 2018 Mar;38(1):xv-xvi. doi: 10.1016/j.cll.2017.11.001. Epub 2017 Dec 12. PubMed PMID: 29412893.
Milner DA Jr. Global Health and Pathology. Clin Lab Med. 2018 Mar;38(1):i. doi: 10.1016/S0272-2712(17)30139-7. Epub 2018 Feb 3. PubMed PMID: 29412888.
Orozco JD, Greenberg LA, Desai IK, Anglade F, Ruhangaza D, Johnson M, Ivers LC, Milner DA Jr, Farmer PE. Building Laboratory Capacity to Strengthen Health Systems: The Partners In Health Experience. Clin Lab Med. 2018 Mar;38(1):101-117. doi: 10.1016/j.cll.2017.10.008. Epub 2017 Dec 28. Review. PubMed PMID: 29412874.
Milner DA Jr, Holladay EB. Laboratories as the Core for Health Systems Building. Clin Lab Med. 2018 Mar;38(1):1-9. doi: 10.1016/j.cll.2017.10.001. Epub 2017 Dec 1. Review. PubMed PMID: 29412873.
Dayton V, Nguyen CK, Van TT, Thanh NV, To TV, Hung NP, Dung NN, Milner DA Jr. Evaluation of Opportunities to Improve Hematopathology Diagnosis for Vietnam Pathologists. Am J Clin Pathol. 2017 Nov 20;148(6):529-537. doi: 10.1093/ajcp/aqx108. PubMed PMID: 29140404.
Mpunga T, Hedt-Gauthier BL, Tapela N, Nshimiyimana I, Muvugabigwi G, Pritchett N, Greenberg L, Benewe O, Shulman DS, Pepoon JR, Shulman LN, Milner DA Jr. Implementation and Validation of Telepathology Triage at Cancer Referral Center in Rural Rwanda. J Glob Oncol. 2016 Jan 20;2(2):76-82. doi: 10.1200/JGO.2015.002162. eCollection 2016 Apr. PubMed PMID: 28717686; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5495446.
Sayed S, Lukande R, Fleming KA. Providing Pathology Support in Low-Income Countries. J Glob Oncol. 2015 Sep 23;1(1):3-6. doi: 10.1200/JGO.2015.000943. eCollection 2015 Oct. PubMed PMID: 28804765; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5551652.
Nelson AM, Milner DA, Rebbeck TR, Iliyasu Y. Oncologic Care and Pathology Resources in Africa: Survey and Recommendations. J Clin Oncol. 2016 Jan 1;34(1):20-6. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2015.61.9767. Epub 2015 Nov 17. Review. PubMed PMID: 26578619.
Mpunga T, Tapela N, Hedt-Gauthier BL, Milner D, Nshimiyimana I, Muvugabigwi G, Moore M, Shulman DS, Pepoon JR, Shulman LN. Diagnosis of cancer in rural Rwanda: early outcomes of a phased approach to implement anatomic pathology services in resource-limited settings. Am J Clin Pathol. 2014 Oct;142(4):541-5. doi: 10.1309/AJCPYPDES6Z8ELEY. PubMed PMID: 25239422.
Mtonga P, Masamba L, Milner D, Shulman LN, Nyirenda R, Mwafulirwa K. Biopsy case mix and diagnostic yield at a Malawian central hospital. Malawi Med J. 2013 Sep;25(3):62-4. PubMed PMID: 24358421; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3859990.
Berezowska S, Tomoka T, Kamiza S, Milner DA Jr, Langer R. Surgical pathology in sub-Saharan Africa–volunteering in Malawi. Virchows Arch. 2012 Apr;460(4):363-70. doi: 10.1007/s00428-012-1217-z. Epub 2012 Mar 10. PubMed PMID: 22407448.
Roberts DJ, Wilson ML, Nelson AM, Adesina AM, Fleming KA, Milner D, Guarner J, Rebbeck TR, Castle P, Lucas S. The good news about cancer in developing countries–pathology answers the call. Lancet. 2012 Feb 25;379(9817):712. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60306-7. PubMed PMID: 22364759.
Carlson JW, Lyon E, Walton D, Foo WC, Sievers AC, Shulman LN, Farmer P, Nosé V, Milner DA Jr. Partners in pathology: a collaborative model to bring pathology to resource poor settings. Am J Surg Pathol. 2010 Jan;34(1):118-23. doi: 10.1097/PAS.0b013e3181c17fe6. PubMed PMID: 19898229.

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-Dan Milner, MD, MSc, spent 10 years at Harvard where he taught pathology, microbiology, and infectious disease. He began working in Africa in 1997 as a medical student and has built an international reputation as an expert in cerebral malaria. In his current role as Chief Medical officer of ASCP, he leads all PEPFAR activities as well as the Partners for Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment in Africa Initiative.

Hematopathology Case Study: A 48 Year Old Woman with Left Upper Quadrant Pain

Case History

A 48-year-old female presents with a one-month history of left upper quadrant pain. Laboratory investigation reveals pancytopenia. Radiology work-up demonstrates splenomegaly. CT scan confirms splenomegaly at 22 cm. There is no lymphadenopathy appreciated in the abdomen. A bone marrow biopsy is performed.

Figure HSTCL — Image 1. H&E and CD3 stains at varying magnification.

Bone Marrow Findings

The bone marrow core biopsy reveals a normocellular marrow space (approximately 50% cellular marrow) with progressive trilineage hematopoiesis. Clusters of small, slightly irregular, mature-appearing lymphocytes are seen within the sinusoids. The marrow aspirate smears reveal mild erythroid hyperplasia without morphologic evidence of dysplasia. There is no increase in blasts. Lymphocytes comprise 18% of a 500-cell differential count on the marrow aspirate smears.

The sinusoidally distributed lymphocytes demonstrate immunopositivity (flow and/or IHC) for CD2, CD3, CD7, CD16, CD56, and γδ. These neoplastic lymphocytes are negative for granzyme B, CD4, CD5, CD8, CD57, and αβ. PCR for T-cell receptor clonality was positive. Cytogenetics revealed a normal female karyotype. FISH for 5p/5q and 7p11/7q31 was normal.

Diagnosis

Taken together, the patient’s clinical presentation along with the presence of an abnormal gamma-delta population of T cells in a sinusoidal distribution with PCR evidence of T-cell clonality is diagnostic of a T-cell lymphoma. The pattern of distribution, granzyme B negativity, lack of concurrent adenopathy favor a diagnosis of Hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma.

Discussion

Hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma (HSTCL) is an uncommon entity that represents <1% of all non-Hodgkin lymphomas and 1%-2% of all T/natural killer cell lymphomas. It most commonly affects young adult men, with a median age of 35 years. This high-grade malignancy is most often characterized by γδ T-cells. The most consistent symptoms among patients are fever, splenomegaly, hepatomegaly, bone marrow involvement, peripheral blood cytopenia, and less commonly, adenopathy. Hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma has a poor prognosis with median survival rates varying from a few months to 16 months in different studies.

Immune suppression (such as solid- organ transplant, or immune dysregulation secondary to malignancy or infection) is thought to play a role in the lymphomagenesis in around 20% of cases. Inflammatory bowel disease and the use of immunosuppressive agents (e.g., antitumor necrosis- α agents) and antimetabolite therapy (e.g., 6TG, 6MP) had also been associated with development of HSTCL.

HSTCL initially infiltrates the cords and sinusoids of the splenic red pulp. The white pulp is often atrophic or absent. Eventually, the neoplastic T cells diffusely replace the spleen. The lymphoma cells often involve the liver and bone marrow sinusoids. At the time of diagnosis, the bone marrow is almost always involved and commonly hypercellular. The neoplastic cells are mostly intermediate in size, with pale agranular cytoplasm and round nuclei with condensed chromatin and inconspicuous nucleoli.

Cytogenetic studies in HSTCL most commonly show isochromosome 7q and trisomy 8. Molecular analysis of HSTCL characteristically shows expression of a γδ T-cell type and flow cytometric analysis typically reveals a CD2+, CD3+, CD7+/−, CD4−, CD5−, and CD8− phenotype with positivity for natural killer cell-associated markers CD11b, CD16, and CD56.

Activating mutations in PI3KCD and STAT signaling genes have also been described in HSTCL, providing potential molecular target therapies for this aggressive lymphoma.

The differential diagnosis of HSTCL includes other types of T-cell lymphoma and leukemia, and non-neoplastic such as immune thrombocytopenia or acute hepatitis. In most instances, the distinctive presentation of spleen, liver and bone marrow involvement, the immunophenotype and T-cell monoclonality distinguishes HSTCL from other entities.

The outcomes of the patients using standard chemotherapy regimens are dismal, and allogeneic SCT appears to be a reasonable approach to achieve the best possible patient outcome.

References

Yabe M, Miranda RN, Medeiros LJ. Hepatosplenic T-cell Lymphoma: a review of clinicopathologic features, pathogenesis, and prognostic factors. Hum Pathol. 2018 Apr; 74:5-16.
McThenia SS, Rawwas J, Oliveira JL, Khan SP, Rodriguez V. Hepatosplenic γδ T-cell lymphoma of two adolescents: Case report and retrospective literature review in children, adolescents, and young adults. Pediatr Transplant. 2018 Aug;22(5): e13213.

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-Levent Trabzonlu, MD is a postdoctoral researcher in the department of pathology at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. Follow Dr. Trabzonlu on twitter @aflevent

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-Kamran M. Mirza, MD PhD is an Assistant Professor of Pathology and Medical Director of Molecular Pathology at Loyola University Medical Center. He was a top 5 honoree in ASCP’s Forty Under 40 2017. Follow Dr. Mirza on twitter @kmirza.

The Pyramid and the Power

In 1950 the National Safety Council began describing a safety system known as the “hierarchy of controls.” This new model was created to show that that design, elimination and engineering controls are more effective in reducing risk to workers than ‘lower level controls’ such as warnings, training, procedures and personal protective equipment (PPE). The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) began to use the hierarchy of controls, and it has been an effective safety teaching tool for that organization and others over the years. The philosophy of the hierarchy- or the pyramid- is simple: “Controlling exposures to occupational hazards is the fundamental method of protecting workers.” It is simple, and although it may not be rocket science, it’s a powerful idea.

While this hierarchy is represented differently by multiple organizations, the basic protection levels of the pyramid remain the same; Elimination, Substitution, Engineering Controls, Administrative Controls, and PPE. The most effective part of the pyramid (Elimination) is at the sharp end, or the top, and the least effective (PPE) lies at the bottom.

Unfortunately, the top two most-effective layers of the safety pyramid do not work well in the laboratory setting. We can’t eliminate or substitute the biohazards we work with- that would mean not being able to perform our work. Laboratorians handle and analyze patient samples and chemicals, and they are a necessary hazardous part of the job. There is some substitution possible in the lab when considering chemicals (the use of a non-hazardous xylene substitute, for example), but for the most part, this level of the hierarchy of controls is not very helpful to the lab.

Engineering Controls involve the use of engineered machinery or equipment which reduces or eliminates exposure to a chemical or physical hazard. Engineering Controls are definitely favored over other levels on the pyramid for controlling existing worker exposures in the workplace because they are designed to remove the hazard at the source, before it comes in contact with the worker. Well-designed engineering controls can be very effective in protecting lab employees, and they are typically independent of worker interactions so they can provide that high level of protection. Sometimes the initial price of certain engineering controls can be high, but over the longer term, operating costs are frequently lower, and the controls can ultimately provide a cost savings. Good examples of engineering controls include Biological Safety Cabinets, Chemical Fume Hoods, centrifuges, and glove boxes.

The next level of the hierarchy is represented as Administrative Controls. These controls seek to improve workplace safety by creating safer policies and procedures in the workplace. Administrative Controls can range from the placement of warning signs throughout a lab, the provision of safety training programs, and the implementation of proper ergonomics. The part of the pyramid may be the most difficult to manage. The onus of workplace safety here begins to shift from management over to staff, and sometimes the results can be… unpredictable.

An off-shoot of Administrative Controls that is discussed often in safety models is known as Work Practice Controls. These controls are not truly part of hierarchy, but they can be important safety practices in the lab setting. OSHA describes Work Practice Controls as “procedures for safe and proper work that are used to reduce the duration, frequency or intensity of exposure to a hazard.” These are the not the actual written procedures, but the actions that put those written policies into action. Following proper hand hygiene and preventing eating or drinking in the laboratory are good examples of those actions.

PPE is at the bottom of the hierarchy of controls- by definition that means that it is the least effective method to keep employees from hazard exposure. It is the last resort for safety in the lab. That’s a powerful point, and it should be discussed when providing lab safety training. All too often lab staff carelessly perform tasks without wearing PPE, and the danger is immediate and potentially disastrous. Even though this level of protection is considered the least effective, this last barrier between the employee and the hazardous material is crucial. Lab staff are required to have PPE education, and they should be able to provide a return demonstration for the proper donning and doffing of that PPE.

The Hierarchy of Controls is typically represented as a pyramid. It’s a simple symbol, but it’s really a powerful and complex model for safety. When you look at each separate level, you can see that there is a great deal of information that can provide a lab safety professional with helpful resources. As a lab leader, you can use the model to provide education, train staff, and help to enforce good safety behaviors which will improve the lab safety culture and keep employees from harm.

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–Dan Scungio, MT(ASCP), SLS, CQA (ASQ) has over 25 years experience as a certified medical technologist. Today he is the Laboratory Safety Officer for Sentara Healthcare, a system of seven hospitals and over 20 laboratories and draw sites in the Tidewater area of Virginia. He is also known as Dan the Lab Safety Man, a lab safety consultant, educator, and trainer.

Hematopathology Case Study: A 55 Year Old Woman with Fatigue, Nausea, and Vomiting

Case History

55 year old woman with no significant past medical history presented with two weeks of increasing fatigue, nausea and vomiting. She was subsequently found to have a leukocytosis (WBC = 31.1) and marked splenomegaly (19 cm).

Peripheral Blood

mcl-peri-1

mcl-peri-2

Bone Marrow Biopsy

mcl-core-bcl1 — core biopsy BCL1 (CCND1)

Flow Cytometry

mcl-flow

Cytogenetics

mcl-cyto-IGH — IGH/CCND1 gene rearrangement

Diagnosis

The peripheral blood shows a population of atypical cells that at first may look like blasts. However, the variable size, round to markedly irregular nuclear contours, large prominent nucleoli and mild to moderate amounts of cytoplasm favor lymphoma cells.

The bone marrow aspirate shows the vast majority of the cellularity is composed of a pleomorphic population of lymphoma cells that are varied in size from small to large with mild to moderate cytoplasm, round to irregular nuclear contours and prominent nucleoli. Occasional maturing erythroid and myeloid precursors are present.

The core biopsy shows a marrow with a cellularity of approximately 70%. There is an interstitial infiltrate of atypical mononuclear cells with frequent scattered mitoses occupying 70% of the overall cellularity. By immunohistochemistry performed on the core biopsy, B-cell marker CD20 highlights the majority of the infiltrating lymphocytes, which co-express BCL1 (CCND1).

Flow cytometry revealed a population of CD19 and CD20 positive kappa (bright) restricted B-cells that were also positive for CD23 in a subset. They did not express any other characteristic antigens including CD5, CD10 and CD11c. Importantly, as there was initial concern for acute myeloid or lymphoblastic leukemia, no abnormal events were identified in the CD45 dim “blast” gate, with CD34 positive blasts showing normal maturation.

Cytogenetics revealed a complex abnormal karyotype. The most important finding was a translocation involving the long arms of chromosome 11 and 14 resulting in the IGH/CCND1 translocation that is characteristic of mantle cell lymphoma. Interestingly, the FISH probe showed that there were 4 IGH/CCND1 fusions indicating an extra copy of the derivative chromosome 14. Additional FISH probes showed a deletion of the TP53 gene on 17p13 and greater than 10 copies of the MYC gene on chromosome 8, consistent with MYC amplification.

Overall, the findings are consistent with a pleomorphic variant of mantle cell lymphoma with leukemic peripheral blood involvement. The cytogenetic findings portend an unfavorable prognosis.

Discussion

Mantle cell lymphoma is generally characterized as an aggressive lymphoma of mature B-cells. It accounts for approximately 3-10% of non-Hodgkin lymphomas and tends to occur in older men. Lymph nodes are the most commonly involved site; however the bone marrow and peripheral blood are frequently involved as well. There are multiple morphologic variants of mantle cell lymphoma. The two aggressive variants include blastoid and pleomorphic. The blastoid variant has cells that resemble lymphoblasts with dispersed chromatin and large prominent nucleoli. The pleomorphic variant is characterized by a spectrum of cells, with many large cells with irregular nuclear contours, pale cytoplasm and variably prominent nucleoli. These two variants are clinically significant because they portend a worse prognosis. ¹

The patient’s cytogenetic findings also portend a poor prognosis. IGH/CCND1 is a translocation between the immunoglobulin heavy chain on chromosome 14 and cyclin D1 on chromosome 11. This translocation leads to the overexpression of cyclin D1. However, Cyclin D1 is a “weak” oncogene and is not sufficient by itself to lead to the development of lymphoma. There are numerous secondary chromosomal aberrations and mutations that must occur to result in the presentation of mantle cell lymphoma. A paper by Beà et al. performed whole genome and/or whole exome sequencing on 29 cases of mantle cell lymphoma. They detected around 3,700 somatic mutations per tumor. ATM, CCND1 and TP53, which have previously been described as drivers in mantle cell lymphoma, were found frequently mutated. TP53 mutations were found in 28% of the lymphomas.²

MYC is a potent proto-oncogene located on chromosome 8. It mainly functions as a transcription factor and its activation leads to increased DNA replication, protein synthesis and alterations in cell metabolism among many other changes. The ultimate effect is increased cell proliferation and tumorigenesis. MYC amplification or translocation was shown to occur more often in blastoid/pleomorphic mantle cell lymphoma variants. This finding was associated with a shortened overall survival and progression-free survival. ³

References

Swerdlow, Steven H. WHO Classification of Tumours of Haematopoietic and Lymphoid Tissues. Revised 4th ed., International Agency for Research on Cancer, 2017.
Beà S, Valdés-Mas R, Navarro A, et al. Landscape of somatic mutations and clonal evolution in mantle cell lymphoma. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2013;110(45):18250-18255. doi:10.1073/pnas.1314608110.
Choe, JY, Yun, JY, Na, HY, et al. MYC overexpression correlates with MYC amplification or translocation, and is associated with poor prognosis in mantle cell lymphoma. 2016 Feb;68(3):442-9. doi: 10.1111/his.12760. Epub 2015 Jul 28.

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–Chelsea Marcus, MD is a third year resident in anatomic and clinical pathology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA and will be starting her fellowship in Hematopathology at BIDMC in July. She has a particular interest in High-grade B-Cell lymphomas and the genetic alterations of these lymphomas.

Compliments in Disguise, More than Meets the Eye

Hello again everyone!

As with most clinical situations, there is often more going on than you can see on the surface. The classic example being the lab values that might have derangements that aren’t apparent clinically; something we rely on heavily in medicine. While most of the situations in these cases apply to diagnostic methods in patient care, sometimes those nuances exist outside of patient care. For example, a simple comment or phrase can hint at an individual’s potential biases and/or carry with them a weight of opinion that means more than what it sounded like.

comp1 — Image 1. Emerging from their laboratory, a pathologist, lab manager, and shift supervisor arrive ready to discuss clinical lab metrics with hospital administration. Many of us transform our roles within *and* outside of the lab, creating a complex team of clinicians all for the sake of our patients. (Source: *Transformers: The Movie*, obviously)

comp2 — Image 2. Instruments get routine service visits from industry reps, while supervisors oversee, and bench techs commiserate all in matching lab coats. Laboratorians often enjoy the exclusivity of the laboratory, working mostly “with your own” can sometimes facilitate an easier experience. But beware of comfort zones: if you don’t spend your time learning about others’ scopes, they won’t learn about yours. (Source: The Simpsons)

Last January, I brought up the topic of stereotypes in pathology which seem to reflect common misconceptions about the field of laboratory medicine. This time I think I’d like to explore that topic a little more in-depth, as I’ve noticed a few things during my clinicals as a medical student. Those of us with careers or histories of lab work or pathology experience know that we’re mostly regarded as a “behind the scene” crowd. That can be true, and to a certain extent a necessary part of patient care, but what happens when these stereotypes catch up with you? What happens when they become a part of your training? Since I have the great luck to have been on both sides of this question, here are my thoughts on what it really means when lab folks are thought of as a mysterious secret hospital-basement society.

First of all, these stereotypes aren’t anything new. We’ve all been sharing and resharing the same story every couple of years from article to article. I shared a few last January: Dr. Lori Rasca’s “Lonely Life of a Clinical Pathologist,” Dr. Sarah Riley’s call to bring the lab to the forefront of medical practice, and survey after survey about things like burn-out and wages. Go ahead and google things about careers in pathology and you’ll get a mixed bag. Often times, you’ll see programs or departments tout the importance of a profession in clinical pathology. Yale University School of Medicine conducted a survey last March where they asked middle-school students “what does a pathologist do?” The responses varied—and were mostly wrong. So the department wrote a piece about the clinical roles of those in laboratory medicine addressing specialization, patient contact, and tech-innovation. One line that stuck out to me: “[you’ll] sometimes hear a surgeon say, ‘I’m only as good as my pathologist.’” Fantastic, I wrote about that last June where I talked about how the relationships between surgery and pathology are critical. The fact of the matter is, pathology is always changing; and with it, the roles of pathologists do too. An article from April 2011 in the College of American Pathology’s CAP Today featured Dr. Sylvia L. Asa and she wrote at length about the future of pathology in response to current stereotypes:

“The 2020 pathologist should not be someone who hides in the basement of a hospital and looks at glass slides or even whole-slide images, but someone who’s able to take all the information from the clinical pathology lab, from radiology, from endoscopy, from slides and the molecular lab, and sit down with the patient to explain the disease he or she has. That is how we will stay relevant in the public eye and every patient will know who their pathologist is. And we should make sure that the patient’s pathologist is the person who, when the patient searches the Internet, is an expert in the field.”

Next, medical students experience a myriad of sifted and specialized knowledge which changes scope and tone from one month/service/attending to another. When you’re in internal medicine, ID specialists are lazy; when you’re in surgery, IM residents are flustered; when you’re in ED, the other attendings don’t have as many thrilling stories; and when you’re in clinic with family medicine staff, you know no one else can handle the “front lines” like you guys do…right? Basically, everyone has a point of view and we naturally find ourselves working with other professionals who have specialized in the same field as us. But when you get too comfortable with your homogenous staff, that’s when those (otherwise normal) opinions can get complicated. Most of the time, pathology is viewed as an outsiders’ specialty. People might think you’re socially inept, or don’t like patients, or even can’t “cut it” on the wards. (That was harder for me to type than for you to read, trust me.) But it does happen; and when it becomes a conversation piece, med students have two classic options: Smile and agree with everything your attending says because their word is gold and they ultimately sign your evaluations or take the chance to address misconceptions and stereotypes—which do you think is easier? Earlier this year, a medical student from Ireland named Robert Ta wrote about his path to pathology in an article published in the International Journal of Medical Students (yes, it’s a real thing—and it’s great!). In it he discussed his enlightening experiences observing laboratory medicine for the first time and falling for the interdisciplinary work and diagnostic algorithms pathology offers. He even cited all-too-familiar classics we’ve all heard such as ““you must really hate dealing with people,” “[you must] have no clinical skills,” “[you have] no social skills,” “[you are] only interested in research,” “[you] must love working with dead people,” and everyone’s favorite “but you’re great with patients … why you would want to go into pathology?”

comp3 — Image 3. “I know you just finished—and honored—your surgery rotation but those scalpel-jockeys don’t *really* know how to take care of patients. Room 12B has gout and I am *not* about to cut his toe off!” Every time we switch rotations, medical students hear what everyone thinks about everyone else’s specialties. It can be exhausting keeping it all straight—I think by the time you graduate it just means you’ve lost track of who’s who… (Source: Medscape)

For the minority of students that figure out what specialty they like early on, those siren-songs can be a barrage to your patience. What ultimately happens is you could create a narrative of why you like pathology as an ad nauseum auto-pilot response, or you could try and engage people for their viewpoints and glean what insights you can—maybe you could even share some insight yourself. But something really interesting happens when you pursue these conversations a bit further: you learn a little more about the other person(s) and a little more about yourself in the process. I had heard the lattermost in the above list of “hits” a million times, and I used to think of it as a sort-of backhanded compliment. It wasn’t until I heard it from an attending I really respected, that my perception changed. I had done a full day’s worth of med student work in a particular clinic alongside my attending. It was full of difficult cases, challenging patients, biopsies, spot diagnoses, etc. On a few occasions I nailed a couple questions (a med student feather-in-cap moment) alongside interns and other students. At the end of the day, a conversation came up about interest in specialties, and I said pathology. Being greeted with a few comments/questions about it, along with a brief but great conversation, the attending finally said that they were impressed with me and to say that my skills would be wasted in the lab is a misnomer. Rather, my “clinical skills/work ethic” wherever I’d end up would be a valuable asset to patients anywhere in the hospital. (Um, that was a gold-star day. I think it was also a Friday, so just amazing overall.) So these stereotypic comments that used to make me feel frustrated, just got turned into one of my most memorable compliments—and I couldn’t be more grateful.

Turns out, medicine is full of moments like this. Where suddenly you learn or adjust a small piece of information and your point-of-view shifts to a new outlook. Dr. Justin Kreuter, a clinical pathologist, at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, recently wrote a perspectives piece for Mayo Medical Laboratories. It was all about taking the time to critically reflect. He linked to a few interesting articles and talked about how he takes time each day to reflect on moments and experiences he had. A mindfulness of “deliberate practice” (one of the various ways we can practice becoming better at something) shows us that being aware of opinions, cause-and-effect relationships, and our roles in certain situations can shape how we move forward from various experiences. Check his articles out and take his advice; who knows what you might learn about frustrating moments in your day, when instead you might change the entire conversation?

See you all next time!

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–Constantine E. Kanakis MSc, MLS (ASCP)CM graduated from Loyola University Chicago with a BS in Molecular Biology and Bioethics and then Rush University with an MS in Medical Laboratory Science. He is currently a medical student actively involved in public health and laboratory medicine, conducting clinicals at Bronx-Care Hospital Center in New York City.

Hematopathology Case Study: An 85 Year Old Man with Pancytopenia

Case History

An 85 year old man presented with pancytopenia and weakness. His labs include WBC of 3.2, HgB of 9.9 and platelets of 137.

Bone Marrow Biopsy

hairycellbm10x — Bone Marrow Aspirate, 10x

hairycellbm40x — Bone Marrow Aspirate, 40x

Flow Cytometry

hairycellflow

hairycellplasmacell

hairycellplasmacellgate

Diagnosis

The bone marrow aspirate shows multiple cellular spicules with a prominent population of lymphoid cells with oval to reniform nuclei, dispersed chromatin and abundant pale cytoplasm. Scattered plasma cells are also present.

The core biopsy shows an infiltrating population of atypical lymphocytes with moderate amounts of pale eosinophilic cytoplasm and mature chromatin that stain positive for CD20. Frequent mononuclear cells consistent with plasma cells are also seen scattered throughout the bone marrow and stain positive for CD138.

Flow cytometry revealed that 80% of the lymphoid gate represented a kappa light chain restricted population that co-expressed B-cell markers CD19, CD20 and CD22 along with classic hairy cell leukemia specific markers CD11c, CD25 and CD103. A second population of kappa restricted cells fell in the plasma cell gate. The cells co-expressed CD138, CD56 and were largely negative for CD19 and CD20.

Overall, there is a hypercellular bone marrow with a prominent mononuclear lymphoid infiltrate consistent with hairy cell leukemia and a concurrent population of plasma cells consistent with plasma cell neoplasm.

Discussion

Hairy cell leukemia is a rare lymphoid neoplasm that accounts for only 2% of lymphoid leukemias. Patients tend to be in their 50s-60s with a 4:1 male predominance. The tumor is generally found in the bone marrow and spleen with rare circulating cells in the peripheral blood. Patients are generally cytopenic at presentation and symptoms include weakness and fatigue. Splenomegaly is common and hepatomegaly can also be seen.^{. 1}

Hairy cell leukemia involves the clonal expansion of B-cells with a unique immunophenotypic profile. They are bright for CD19, CD20, CD22 and CD200, negative or dim for CD5, CD23 and CD10 and positive for CD11c, CD103, CD123 and CD25. Hairy cell leukemia must be distinguished from two provisional entities, hairy cell leukemia-variant and splenic diffuse red pulp lymphoma. These two entities do not have the classic morphology or staining profile of hairy cell leukemia.²

BRAF V600E mutations are detected in more than 80% of cases of classic hairy cell leukemia. The mutation is considered to be a driver mutation, but additional mutations are usually present that lead to disease progression. Hairy cell leukemia-variant is usually negative for BRAF mutations and has a more aggressive clinical course.³

Patients with hairy cell leukemia are given purine analogues as first line treatment and generally do well. However, patients who do not respond or who undergo relapse have few options. Increasingly, BRAF V600E inhibitors are being used for patients with hairy cell leukemia. Multiple studies have now confirmed the efficacy of vemurafenib and dabrafenib, however patients can be quick to relapse once off the drugs. Combination approaches should be considered for the most effective treatment. ⁴

References

Swerdlow SH, Campo E, Harris NL, et al. WHO Classification of Tumours of Haematopoetic and Lymphoid Tissues (Revised 4^th edition). IARC: Lyon 2017.
Troussard X, Cornet E. Hairy cell leukemia 2018: Update on diagnosis, risk‐stratification, and treatment. American Journal of Hematology. 2017;92(12):1382-1390. doi:10.1002/ajh.24936.
Maitre E, Bertrand P, Maingonnat C, et al. New generation sequencing of targeted genes in the classical and the variant form of hairy cell leukemia highlights mutations in epigenetic regulation genes. Oncotarget. 2018;9(48):28866-28876. doi:10.18632/oncotarget.25601.
Roider T, Falini B, Dietrich S. Recent advances in understanding and managing hairy cell leukemia. F1000Research. 2018;7:F1000 Faculty Rev-509. doi:10.12688/f1000research.13265.1.

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Leading in a VUCA World

Leading people can be a challenging task regardless of the industry or size of an organization. Adding volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environment into the mix and the leadership challenge increases. Today’s organizations are increasingly complex, ambiguous, uncertain, and volatile because change is accelerating and intensifying. How can leaders equip themselves to manage a VUCA workplace? The first step is understanding what each terms means.

Volatile Situations describe circumstances that change constantly and unexpectedly, and a certain level of instability of a task or challenge is present. However, the best leadership approach is to use available information, be proactive, and have multiple plans and strategies in place. An example of a volatile circumstance is a natural disaster. In such a circumstance not only is the natural disaster a volatile situation, but also the constantly changing nature of the aftermath; which emergency agencies are coming and when, where are people stuck, etc. There are a lot of changes occurring in a volatile situation. Being proactive and prepared in volatile circumstances can be expensive, but that preparation is necessary to handle these situations.

Uncertain Situations are situations known for a lack of information, so on some level they are the opposite of volatile situations. In uncertain circumstances there is no reliable information about cause and effect and it is not known if change will happen, can happen, or have a positive effect if it does happen. The best approach in these circumstances is to find more information, more data, and more analytics. Once leaders have access to more data, they need to make sure the data is analyzed and implemented into new strategies and change processes. An example of an uncertain situation is when a competitor suddenly emerges that takes direct aim at your company by undercutting prices. In this case, it is important to collect as much data and information as possible to respond to the situation appropriately through new strategies.

Complex Situations have several interconnected and interdependent aspects which have a clear relationship. In these situations, there is partial information available but because everything is interlinked, it is a challenge to process the information in a way that reliably predicts the future. The approach is to reduce the number of linkages, or at least to make them clearer, so the complexity of the situation or task is easily understood and managed. An example of a complex situation is when implementing a process change affects all departments in an organization. In such a circumstance, everything is interconnected and it can be hard to predict how this change will impact everyone and to prepare for it. The key here is to make the change as simple as possible and to assess the impact it makes on every aspect of the organization before implementing the change.

Ambiguous Situations are situations which have relationships that are completely unknown and ambiguous; there appears to be no rhyme or reason. The phrase that comes to mind in these situations is “you don’t know what you don’t know.” In such ambiguity, leaders need to learn from mistakes, hypotheses, and test rounds so it is important to experiment in order to gain information. An example of an ambiguous situation is when you are launching a new product or starting a new business. There are a lot of unknowns in these circumstances so making hypotheses and learning from mistakes is essential for leaders’ success.

In order to lead in a VUCA world, leaders need to analyze these four situation types to confirm which one they are currently leading in. Next is to find the right approach in order to lead people, a department, or an organization through the volatile, uncertain, complex, or ambiguous situation. Knowing is half the answer, so the next time you find yourself in a VUCA situation, start by not only analyzing the situation and possible solutions, but also by analyzing your own reaction to each of the four situations. Being able to understand and control your own reaction will increase your leadership skills in all VUCA and non-VUCA worlds.

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-Lotte Mulder earned her Master’s of Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2013, where she focused on Leadership and Group Development. She’s currently working toward a PhD in Organizational Leadership. At ASCP, Lotte designs and facilitates the ASCP Leadership Institute, an online leadership certificate program. She has also built ASCP’s first patient ambassador program, called Patient Champions, which leverages patient stories as they relate to the value of the lab.

Managing Up For Safety

Several employee injuries over a six-month period did nothing to get the attention of the laboratory leadership. The Occupational Health nurse was nearing retirement, and she didn’t pay attention to the fact that these injuries came from the same area- the autopsy suite- and that many had a common cause. The pathologist knew that the employees were getting hurt because of bad conditions in the morgue area. The autopsy table was old and had rusted sharp edges that frequently caused cuts on the hands of those handling it. The body storage refrigerator was small, and staff members from the security department and nursing suffered back injuries from the awkward positions needed to load and unload bodies on the shelves. However, the pathologist’s complaints to the lab manager were unheeded, mainly because he complained about something different every day.

The new lab safety officer noted the lab injury reports and very quickly noticed a pattern. She interviewed the affected staff and took a look around the autopsy suite. She used her camera and took pictures of the old rusty table and the high shelves in the tiny body storage refrigerator. She tallied the cost to the facility of the accumulated injuries and placed the information in a presentation that included the photographs. She made an appointment with the hospital administrator and gave her brief presentation. Before the week was out, the lab had approved funding for updated autopsy furniture and a mechanical lift for moving bodies.

In life, each person has a specific “sphere of influence,” those things you are able to touch and on which you have an effect. It is typically a waste of time to expend energy on those things you cannot change- like a traffic jam, for instance. Stewing about that truly is a waste and accomplishes little. If your role deals with lab safety, then you do have influence on every safety issue in the department, even though it may not always seem that way.

As a lab safety professional, it can be frustrating to see safety issues go unnoticed or unattended, especially after they have been reported. The apparent roadblocks to solutions may be a lack of funds, busy or disinterested leadership, and even an overall poor culture of safety. There are steps you can take, however, which can help you move around the roadblocks and bring those unattended safety issues toward a solution.

Finances is a common hindrance to making changes in the laboratory such as remodeling a space or even getting new or improved safety equipment. Safety is always value-added, but it is important to be able to prove it to those holding the financial reins. First, tally the cost of any injuries that may have occurred due to the safety issue. That total should include any medical treatment, time off of work, the cost of replacement employees or overtime incurred, and time to make any temporary fixes and to communicate to staff. If there is a possibility of penalties or fines should the issue be noted by an outside regulatory agency, those should be considered as well. Many times, the total of the costs for the safety issue are greater than the cost of the fix. In the healthcare setting where finances are getting more attention each year, this can be a powerful tool to get things done.

If lab leadership is uninterested or too busy to help you with safety issues, there are some long-term solutions. First, make sure you act as the safety role model and build trust with peers and leadership. If your discussions with them are reasonable, and if your focus is on sensible, realistic solutions, you will have a better response than if you get angry or try to control everything. That relationship-building can be critical to your ability to influence changes when needed. If the overall safety culture in the lab is poor, you can still have a positive effect on it even without the full support of leadership. That leadership support always helps, but making positive changes can occur without it, and that also comes through being a role model and working well with the lab staff.

A successful lab safety professional develops and increases their sphere of influence over time, but it can be an uphill battle depending on the location and the other people involved. Knowing what the important issues are and when to tackle them is key, and learning that while navigating through a particular culture and organizational structure can take time. Have patience, and you will eventually be able to leverage your safety knowledge to be able to manage upward in order to create a safer laboratory.

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Hematopathology Case Study: A 67 Year Old Female with a Sore Throat

History

A 67 year old female presents with a two-month history of sore throat. She endorses dysphagia and left-sided otalgia but denies voice changes, shortness of breath, hemoptysis, weight loss, fever or night sweats. She has smoked 1 pack/day for 41 years and occasionally drinks alcohol. Her past medical history is notable for systemic lupus erythematosus for which she takes Plaquenil.

Physical examination slightly elevated systolic blood pressure. She is afebrile. Pertinent neck exam findings include mild tonsillar asymmetry (left slightly larger than right), and a firm mass at left base of tongue, and a 3 cm lymph node in the neck (left level III). A biopsy sample was taken from the tongue mass.

Biopsy

EBV-1

H&E stained sections reveal sheets of large lymphocytes. The lymphoid cells are medium to large in size with irregular nuclear contours and prominent nuclei. Areas of necrosis are prominent. No specific areas of epithelial ulceration are noted. Immunophenotypic characterization of the larger cells reveals positivity for CD20, CD30, CD79a, PAX5, MUM1, Epstein Barr virus encoded RNA (EBER) and a variable Ki-67 proliferation index, which is up to 60-70% in the larger cells, but around 20-30% overall. Only rare cells are positive for BCL-2 and BCL-6. The lymphoma cells are negative for keratin AE1/AE3, CD10, CD4, CD8, CD21, CD23, CD7, CD5, Cyclin D1, CD68, CD56, and CD43. The background T cells express CD5 and CD7 and are a mixture of CD4 and CD8 with CD4 predominance.

We considered the diagnosis of EBV-positive mucocutaneous ulcer (a more indolent entity); however, the lack of history of an ulcer/ulceration and the presence of a mass-lesion (with additional adenopathy) does not support this diagnosis.

The findings are most consistent with EBV-positive DLBCL, NOS (WHO 2017), previously known as EBV positive DLBCL of the elderly (WHO 2008).

Discussion

Epstein Barr Virus, a member of the Herpesviridae family is mostly known for causing Infectious Mononucleosis. However, the ubiquitous virus which is present in about 90% of adults but often asymptomatic¹, has a predilection for epithelial cells including B-cells.² Incorporation of the viral genome and viral takeover of the cells proliferative machinery underlies the pathogenesis of any EBV-related disease/malignancy. It has been associated with a gastric carcinoma, fulminant hepatitis, undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and B cell, T cell and NK cell lymphomas³, including EBV+ diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified (DLBCL-NOS).

EBV-positive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified (EBV+ DLBCL-NOS) was formerly known as EBV-positive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) of the elderly. The WHO classification substituted “not otherwise specified” in place of “for the elderly” to reflect two things: 1) EBV is associated with other specific neoplastic Large B-Cell diseases such as lymphomatoid granulomatosis, and 2) EBV+DLBCL can affect younger individuals as well as the elderly. ²

EBV+DLBCL-NOS patients may occur in nodal or extranodal sites, with up to 40% presenting with extranodal sites at least in the early stages. Patients may be asymptomatic with or without B symptoms but usually, patients present with rapidly enlarging tumors at single or multinodal sites, as well as at extranodal sites. ⁴

The patient’s presentation with sore throat and the finding of neck mass with EBV-positive large B-cells associated with ulcer-like necrosis raises a differential diagnosis that ranges from reactive to malignant. Table 1 shows a comparison between three differential diagnoses: EBV+DLBCL-NOS; EBV-positive mucocutaneous ulcer; and infectious mononucleosis.

EVB-t1 — Table 1. Comparison of 3 EBV-positive differentials in the head and neck

Unfortunately, there is currently no uniformly agreed standard of treatment for EBV+DLBCL which has a worse prognosis than EBV negative DLBCL.² The standard treatment for DLBCL (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone- R-CHOP) is used but it responds poorly to treatment, with a median survival of 2 years.

Therefore, early detection by clinical suspicion and testing all DLBCL patients for EBV is very important.²

References

Tsuchiya S. Diagnosis of Epstein–Barr virus-associated diseases. Critical Reviews in Oncology and Hematology. 2002;44(3):227-238. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1040842802001142. doi: 10.1016/S1040-8428(02)00114-2.
Murthy SL, Hitchcock MA, Endicott-Yazdani T, Watson JT, Krause JR. Epstein-barr virus–positive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Proceedings (Baylor University.Medical Center). 2017;30(4):443-444. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5595389/.
Okano, Motohiko, MD, PhD|Gross, Thomas G., MD, PhD. Acute or chronic life-threatening diseases associated with epstein-barr virus infection. American Journal of the Medical Sciences, The. 2012;343(6):483-489. https://www.clinicalkey.es/playcontent/1-s2.0-S0002962915309435. doi: 10.1097/MAJ.0b013e318236e02d.
Swerdlow S, Campo E, Harris NL, Jaffe ES, Pileri SA, Stein H, Thiele J, Arber D, Hasserjian R, Le Beau M. WHO classification of tumours of haematopoietic and lymphoid tissues. 2017.
Dunmire SK, Hogquist KA, Balfour HH. Infectious Mononucleosis. Current topics in microbiology and immunology. 2015;390:211-240. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-22822-8_9.

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-Adesola Akinyemi, M.D., MPH, recently earned his MPH-Health Policy and Management from New York Medical College. He plans on pursuing residency training in pathology. His interests include cytopathology, neuropathology, and health outcomes improvement through systems thinking and design.

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