The diagnosis and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) present significant challenges in clinical practice. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical utility of tumor abnormal protein (TAP), Prothrombin induced by vitamin K absence-II (PIVKA-II), and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in diagnosing HCC as well as to investigate their prognostic significance in patients with HCC undergoing transarterial chemoembolization.

The multipositivity of myositis-specific antibodies (MSAs) is uncommon. Our study aimed to assess the prevalence and the clinical relevance of multiple positive MSAs in routine practice.

This case report describes a patient with a medical history of schizophrenia, found in a coma with hyperthermia, likely due to classic heatstroke. The white blood cells observed on the blood smear showed cytological abnormalities characterized by multilobed nuclei, which could be early signs of cell death. The evolution into multiorgan failure led rapidly to death.

Regenerating protein I alpha (REG Iα) plays a key role in the progression of gastric cancer (GC). However, the clinical application value of serum REG Iα in GC remains largely unknown.

Specimen hemolysis is a frequent finding when blood is collected from neonates. This produces artificially high results for some analytes, such as potassium. Testing samples for electrolytes using point-of-care (POC) blood gas analyzers is convenient and facile. However, unlike testing that is conducted on serum or plasma from a central laboratory, detection of hemolysis using POC analyzers cannot currently be achieved. As described in these cases, the presence of hemolysis can produce ambiguities and delays in the diagnosis and management of neonates.

One possible way to improve accuracy of blood culture Gram stain analyses is increasing the concentration of organisms on the slide prepared from the blood culture broth.

The aim of the study was to compare the cost and clinical impact of repeating BioFire FilmArray gastrointestinal (GI) and respiratory (RP) panel assays with 3 vs 4 pathogen targets positive.

Aldosterone synthase deficiency (ASD) is a rare autosomal recessive inherited disease with an overall clinical phenotype of failure to thrive, vomiting, severe dehydration, hyperkalemia, and hyponatremia. Mutations in the CYP11B2 gene encoding AS are responsible for the occurrence of ASD. Defects in CYP11B2 gene have only been reported in a limited number of cases worldwide. Due to this potential life-threatening risk, a comprehensive hormonal investigation followed by genetic confirmation is essential for the clinical management of offspring.

The kappa-free light chain (κFLC) index has shown its value in detecting the intrathecal synthesis of immunoglobulins. We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of the κFLC index for multiple sclerosis (MS) and compare different algorithms proposed in the literature to optimize its use for our population.

Progesterone is a steroid hormone primarily associated with pregnancy. A simple, rapid, and reliable high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method has been developed and validated for the quantification of progesterone in human plasma. The method consists of a simple liquid-liquid extraction of progesterone and internal standard (estriol) from human plasma using a mixture of hexane and diethyl ether. The chromatographic determination of progesterone was performed using an acetonitrile-water (70:30, v/v) mobile phase with a C18 reversed-phase column. The method achieved an extraction recovery of greater than 96.4% from spiked plasma samples. Intra- and inter-day precision were generally acceptable, with relative SD% less than ≤6.60% and accuracy (relative error %) better than 3.64%. The developed and validated method was used to successfully quantify progesterone levels in plasma samples collected from women during the third trimester of pregnancy. Furthermore, a statistical comparison was conducted between progesterone concentrations in plasma samples obtained from 2 groups of pregnant women: group 1 (n = 9) at 30-35 weeks and group 2 (n = 9) at 36-41 weeks. The developed and validated HPLC method described in this study enables the successful determination of progesterone in human plasma, offering advantages such as shorter analysis time, simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and potential routine use during pregnancy.

CALR mutation analysis is routinely used to diagnose BCR/ABL1-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms. The 2 most common CALR mutations are a 52-base pair (bp) deletion and a 5-bp insertion, which account for approximately 85% of cases.

Gene polymorphisms of rearranged during transfection (RET) and its ligand neurturin (NRTN) are one of the focus of studies in the investigation of cancer pathogenesis, invasion, and metastasis. In this study, we aimed to examine the possible risk of breast cancer between RET G691S, L769L, S904S, and NRTN IVSI-663 polymorphisms and to evaluate serum NRTN, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, MMP-9, and focal adhesion kinase (FAK) levels.

The use of xylene substitutes is becoming more common in the setting of micrographic surgery frozen tissue section staining, and dermatologic surgeons need to be aware of possible undesirable delayed effects of using these agents and the possibility of modifying H&E staining protocols to prevent delayed fading. This report demonstrates an undesirable outcome of using an isoparaffinic aliphatic hydrocarbon as a xylene substitute, implementation of a quality improvement intervention to eliminate frozen section slide fading in the setting of micrographic surgery tissue processing, and recommendations for the modification of protocol when using a xylene substitute.

Preanalytical errors due to interferences can lead to inaccurate results, necessitating an understanding of potential interferences for each test. This study explores the impact of elevated concentrations of ascorbic acid and glucose on urine analysis, a pivotal diagnostic tool.

Meningiomas are the most common intracranial tumors and their diagnosis relies mostly on neuroimaging and histology. However, the histology grades cannot predict the outcome exactly and some meningiomas tend to recur after resection of even benign tumors. Therefore, it is necessary to explore prognostic and diagnostic molecular targets.

AB antigen is formed by glycosyltransferase enzyme, which catalyzes the corresponding substrates to be connected to the galactose of the precursor substance H antigen. To study the effect of the α-1,3-D galactosyltransferase (GTB) gene mutation on B antigen expression, we explored its molecular mechanism by combining molecular biological methods with bioinformatics. The ABO blood type of the patients was identified using conventional serologic methods, and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products of exons 1-7 of the ABO gene were directly sequenced using gene-specific primers and direct sequencing. Proteins in the secretory supernatant of transfected cells were collected in vitro, and GTB content was quantitatively analyzed using western blotting. Bioinformatics software was used to simulate the 3-dimensional structure of the mutant protein. In this case, the patient's serologic test results revealed subtype B. Gene sequencing results confirmed a mutation at base 278 of exon 6. The mutation (c.278C>T) changed the 93rd amino acid of the protein polypeptide chain from proline to leucine (p.P93L). The variant p.P93L did not affect the expression and secretion of GTB, but affected enzyme activity and stability, ultimately manifesting as weakened expression of the B antigen and reduced affinity.

System-wide laboratory internal audits are useful to help laboratories prepare for external audits in addition to being part of the ongoing program for compliance improvement and quality assurance in the laboratory to track and enhance care quality.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between tumor microenvironment markers (myeloid-derived suppressor cells [MDSCs], regulatory T cells [Tregs], programmed cell death 1 [PD-1], and programmed death ligand 1 [PD-L1]) and chemotherapy efficacy and prognosis in advanced gastric cancer, identifying potential monitoring indicators.

Identification of instrument failure (IF) represents a point to improve the quality of services provided by medical laboratories. Here, a logistic regression model was created to define the relationship between instrument downtime and laboratory quality management systems.

Lymphocyte phenotyping is a valuable tool for monitoring the effects of antiretroviral therapy on individuals living with HIV-1. A switch study was conducted to compare T-cell subset quantification performed by a research laboratory and a diagnostic, laboratory to understand the impact on the retrospective and prospective results of a long-term study.