فصلنامه آزمایشگاه و تشخیص
پیاپی 26 (زمستان 1393)

Prothrombine Time (PT) reagent is made of tissue factor buffered in calcium chloride. The sensitivity of different manufacturer’s reagents differs from each other. Sensitivity means how long PT is prolonged with deficiency of vitamin K dependent factors، especially factor VII. There are two kinds of ISI in each PT reagent kit: 1) Generic ISI 2) instrument and reagent specific ISI. Which one is used for INR calculation in your laboratory? Is it suitable for your instrument or needs local verification according to your facilities? Do you know that it is mandatory to verify ISI locally?

Giardia lamblia is one of the most important intestinal parasites. The aim of this study was to measure serum levels of IgA, IgE, zinc, copper, vitamin B12 and folate in individuals with giardiasis in comparison to normal subjects. The study was carried out among 49 Giardia positive and 39 age and sex matched healthy volunteers. Examination of stool samples was done by direct wet smear and formol-ether concentration method. Serum samples were obtained for further laboratory examination. IgA levels were measured by Single Radial Immune Diffusion (SRID). IgE levels were measured by ELISA kit. Zinc and copper levels was measured by Ziestchem Diagnostics Kit and colorimetric endpoint-method respectively. Vitamin B12 and folate levels were measured by DRG Diagnostics Kit and Enzyme Immunoassay method respectively. All data were analyzed using SPSS version 17. There was a statistically significant difference in IgA, IgE, copper and zinc levels between positive and negative groups (P<0.05). There was no significant difference between vitamin B12 and folate levels between the two groups. Mean values of Giardia positive and negative groups for IgA were 309.26 and 216.89 mg/dl, IgE 167.34 and 35.49 IU/ml, copper 309.74 and 253.61 μg/dl and zinc 69.41 and 144.75 μg/dl respectively. The results showed levels of IgA may correlate more closely with giardiasis than IgE. Regarding trace elements, giardiasis elevated serum copper levels, while it decreased serum zinc. Finally, there was no significant difference in serum levels of vitamin B12 and folic acid between the two groups.

Paying attention to organizational learning in clinical laboratories along with continuously and persistent change in medical sciences, the clinical laboratories employees should be required to acquaint with process changes, and recording of the best experiences and practices. Therefore, this research is aimed to introduce and assessment of organizational learning process situation in Iran and the other conntries for establishment and implementation of this process in Iran’s clinical laboratories and change these healthcare organizations into learner laboratories. This was an applied research that induced with systematic review method. The data was collected using by 11 databases and 5 key words and sarching the nonelectronic references just like books, special issues and related dissertations between 1997 to 2014. The references with other languages, personal approaches and notes, and the articles abstracts published in conferences abstract books were not used as data in this research. Discussion & Through importance of organizational learning in new millennium and lowest score to this process in clinical laboratories and the other health care organizations in Iran, we can make growth of hospitals clinical laboratories by establishment of patient safety system, efficient utilization of previous experiences and loses, prevention and prediction of making errors with initiation of error registration system and promotion of the employees to report the errors.

The dematiaceous are a heterogeneous group of organisms which include hyphomycetes, coelomycetes, and ascomycetes. Given the large volume of dark etiologic agents, only selected genera/species are included here. These fungi share dark pigmentation resulting from the presence of dihydroxynaphthalene melanin in the cell walls. When invading tissue, dark hyphae may be difficult to visualize with the hematoxylin­eosin stain, but the melanin­specific Masson–Fontana stain facilitates recognition. In culture, melanin imparts colonial pigmentation ranging from buff to pale brown in some species, but predominantly olivaceous to brown to black. While a few of these black moulds may display a mucoid or yeast­like phase, at least initially, most appear filamentous in culture. The number of black moulds reported as etiologic agents continues to escalate with the growing population of immune compromised individuals. When recovered from patient samples, dematiaceous fungi must be evaluated for their clinical significance based upon compatible histopathology as they are common, ubiquitous organisms known to colonize host sites. The correct identification of the myriad etiologic agents by the laboratory is critical for appropriate patient management. We have therefore arranged this manuscript in two sections corresponding to these aims. The first section will provide an outline approach to the identification of selected dematiaceous fungi, followed by a brief description of the salient features for each genus or species including (1) colony growth characteristics and macroscopic morphology, (2) microscopic morphology, and/or (3) biochemical tests. Organisms have been grouped on the basis of their anamorphic or teleomorphic reproductive propagules, although these groupings do not necessarily reflect phylogenetic relationships. Categories of black moulds include the hyphomycetes (that bear their conidia free), the coelomycetes (that bear their conidia within enclosed or semi­enclosed conidiomata, such as pycnidia or acervuli, respectively), and the ascomycetes (that bear their ascoconidia within a variety of ascomata, such as cleistothecia, perithecia, gymnothecia and other intermediate forms). Organisms known to cause only eumycotic mycetoma are considered separately. The second section contains a discussion of the epidemiology, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment issues for each of the clinical syndromes caused by dematiaceous fungi: chromoblastomycosis, eumycotic mycetoma, and the various manifestations of phaeohyphomycosis.

Drug resistance Tuberculosis is a serious problem in treatment procedure of patients with Tuberculosis. Rapid diagnosis of the drug resistance Tuberculosis is very important in controlling the progress of the disease. The aim of this study was to identify the mutations responsible for drug resistant among affected patients in Mazandaran using LPA method. Fifty four samples of Tuberculosis patients that were registered at health centers in Mazandaran were randomly selected and after sputum culture on Lowenstein–Jensen medium, genomic DNA was extracted from colonies using CTAB method. For molecular analysis of mutations causing resistance to 5 different drugs, Long Probe Assay (LPA) method using GenID kit was applied. Of the 54 investigated cases 11(including 9 female and 2male) had at least one mutation causing antibiotic resistance strain. Five cases had resistance to more than one drug. None of the patients were affected with multiple drug resistance Tuberculosis, so MDR Tuberculosis is not a serious threat in Mazandaran. However, LPA is a fast method for detecting drug resistance Tuberculosis and using this approach is recommended for all patients with Tuberculosis.

Mycotoxins are considered as a potential risk factor for human and animal health. Food contaminated with mycotoxins can cause serious eye disorders and diseases in livestock and are thus endangering human health. Also, agricultural products contaminated with mycotoxins cause many economic losses in the food industry, livestock and farm. Different physical and chemical detoxification methods have been used to deal with mycotoxins. However, few of them are practical. One of the promising approaches for protecting and improving the quality of food and animal organisms against the harmful effects of mycotoxins is use of substances which are called mycotoxin binders and mycotoxin modifiers. Mycotoxin modifiers are substances that bind mycotoxins surface or break down or transform into non-toxic metabolite act. In this article, the most important types of mycotoxin binders and mycotoxin modifiers, mechanism of action and application to deal with different types of mycotoxins are discussed.