Controlled clinical comparison of two lysis-based blood culture systems, isolator and Septi-Chek Release, for detection of bloodstream infections.

A controlled clinical comparison was made of the Isolator (Wampole Laboratories, Cranbury, N.J.) and the Septi-Chek Release bottle (Roche Diagnostics, Nutley, N.J.). From 6,345 blood culture sets fulfilling minimum criteria for volume of blood cultured, 840 strains were isolated, of which only 691 (82%) were considered to be representative of bloodstream infection according to Centers for Disease Control definitions. Statistically significant differences were found between the systems for the following organisms, which were all detected more frequently in the Isolator system: Staphylococcus aureus (P = 0.0001), Alcaligenes xylosoxidans (P = 0.008), Klebsiella pneumoniae (P = 0.05), Salmonella spp. (P = 0.03), and Candida albicans (P = 0.02). The Septi-Chek Release system required a longer period of time than the Isolator system for detection of the following organisms:S. aureus (P = 0.0001), Enterococcus spp. (P = 0.0001), Enterobacter cloacae (P = 0.03), Escherichia coli (P = 0.0001), Klebsiella oxytoca (P = 0.03), K. pneumoniae (P = 0.02), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P = 0.002), and C. albicans (P = 0.005). There were 430 episodes of bloodstream infections identified in the study; of these episodes, only those due to S. aureus were detected significantly more frequently (P = 0.0001) by the Isolator system than by the Septi-Chek Release system. However, episodes of bloodstream infections due to S. aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Enterococcus spp., and E. coli were detected significantly faster by the Isolator system

A Consensus Curriculum for Laboratory Management Training for Pathology Residents

Through the combined efforts of the American Pathology Foundation (APF), the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP), and the Program Directors Section (PRODS) of the Association of Pathology Chairs (APC), a needs assessment was performed via a survey on the PRODS listserv, workshops at the APC/PRODS annual meetings in 2009 and 2010, and a Work Group of representatives of APF, ASCP, and PRODS. Residency program needs and resource constraints common to training pathology residents in practice and laboratory management were identified. In addition, a consensus curriculum for management training was created to serve as a resource for residency training program directors and others. The curriculum was converted into a wiki design tool for use by program directors, residents, and faculty