Linkedin X-twitter Youtube
Launch Digital Edition

Webinars and Sponsored Roundtables — Register Now

Wednesday, July 15, 2026, 1:00-2:00 PM ET
Hear an expert discuss how to integrate Kappa and Lambda in situ hybridization testing into your standard hematopathology workflow to accurately assess B-cell and plasma cell clonality. You will also gain the skills to recognize testing pitfalls in challenging reactive versus neoplastic proliferations and apply ancillary tools to resolve complex cases.

Webinar presenter Xiaojun Wu, MD, PhD, Assistant professor, Director of Hematopathology Section at NCR of Johns Hopkins Medicine Department of Pathology, SOM at Johns Hopkins University

Moderated by: Bob McGonnagle, Publisher, CAP TODAY

Register Now

Tuesday, July 21, 2026, 11:00-11:30 AM CT

Learning Objectives:
  • Explain how transparency and manufacturer partnerships improve quality, consistency, and decision-making confidence in specimen management.
  • Evaluate blood collection tubes beyond cost and commodity assumptions, incorporating clinical impact and risk into decision-making.
  • Assess the potential risk points when using a blood collection device that has not been cleared for a specific purpose.

Roundtable presenters Nick Fingland, PhD, PMP, Senior Director, R&D Operations and Science, BD, and Chris Farnsworth, PhD, D(ABCC), Section Head of Clinical Chemistry, Professor of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine.

Moderated by: Bob McGonnagle, Publisher, CAP TODAY

Register Now

Subspecialties

Interactive Product Guides

Q&A column

Q&A column

April 2022
Q. Is it necessary to perform a manual cell count for body fluids, including CSF, using a hemocytometer? Can clinical decisions be made based on low cell counts in body fluid reported by automated cell counters since these instruments have decreased precision and accuracy with low counts? Read answer.
Q. Is there a time limit for a critical value—for example, when a specimen is drawn at 8 AM, the lab receives it at 5 PM (due to courier issues) and has a result at 10 PM, and the value falls in the critical range? Since it is now 14 hours after the draw, the lab value may no longer be actionable. No clinician would act on a critical value that is a week old, so at what point is the lab value no longer considered critical? Read answer.
Q. Given that blood specimen collection tubes are in short supply, many laboratories may need to switch to an alternative collection tube manufacturer. What validation studies are necessary before an alternative collection tube can be implemented? Read answer.

Q&A column

March 2022
Q. Are Pancoast tumors a fast-growing, untreatable cancer? Read answer.
Q. When performing reagent lot-to-lot correlation studies, some staff believe it is better to perform instrument calibration before a new reagent lot check while others believe calibration is not necessary. What is the appropriate practice? Read answer.

Q&A column

February 2022
Q. Are there established benchmarks for such transfusion services quality monitors as C:T ratio, blood product waste, and cancellation of suboptimal specimens? Read answer.
Q. If we collect only enough blood to inoculate one blood culture bottle, should we inoculate the aerobic or anaerobic bottle? Read answer.

Q&A column

January 2022
Q. When reporting reference ranges for absolute differential counts, should the ranges be age specific or is a single reference range acceptable? Read answer.
Q. Is it acceptable to use polystyrene tubes for aliquotting plasma for coagulation tests, such as platelet aggregation, and factor-related studies requiring serial dilutions of plasma? I recall seeing recommendations for using nonpolystyrene tubes for frozen plasma aliquots but did not see a reason for the recommendation. Read answer.

Q&A column

December 2021
Q. We use the CAP Competency Assessment Program to create quizzes to satisfy the problem-solving element of the CAP’s competency assessment requirements. Is there a requirement to create a new quiz each year or can the same quiz be given every year? Is it OK to use the same quiz for the initial competency and the annual competency? Read answer.
Q. Are there red blood cell parameters, such as RBC count or mean corpuscular volume, that can affect a platelet estimate? When determining a platelet estimate, should we always look at the same area of the slide regardless of the patient’s RBC, hematocrit and hemoglobin levels, and indices results? Read answer.

Q&A column

November 2021
Q. I am a nurse in a cardiac cath lab that performs point-of-care testing, including for activated clotting time. At my hospital, the POC testing coordinator only allows other cath lab staff, usually nurses, to use POC testing equipment if they have a copy of their diploma. Can staff who have proof of licensure (such as from the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists) but do not have a copy of their diploma be authorized to use POC testing equipment? Read answer.

Q. I recently joined a hospital laboratory that verifies reagents lot to lot with patient samples using a percentage difference of 10 for all parameters. The hospital lab where I previously worked used a CLIA allowable-error percentage. Is 10 percent allowable error acceptable for reagent lot-to-lot verification for all parameters? Read answer.

Q&A column

October 2021
Q. After naloxone is administered, are opiates still detectable in the body? If so, for how long and in what quantities? Read answer.

Q. Why do proficiency testing specimen results for common immunoassay analytes sometimes vary greatly with different instrument manufacturers and their reagents? Does that mean the patient’s results for the same specimen could vary greatly based on the instrument used? If so, is this acceptable? Wouldn’t the variation in results confuse the clinician and patient? Read answer.

Q&A column

September 2021
Q. What is the ideal collection tube for measuring the level of ammonia in blood? Is a tube containing EDTA suitable?Read answer.
Q. Is there a requirement to notify nursing personnel or doctors about each critical value obtained for a patient after the initial occurrence of the critical result?Read answer.

Q&A column

August 2021
Q. Is it necessary for a lab to report a corrected sodium level when the glucose level is really high? Studies show pseudohyponatremia can occur due to hyperglycemia. How common is this, and how do we decide which correction factor to use? Is it possible that this is easily overlooked by providers due to comorbidities in patients? Some references say there is a need to correct glucose for each 100 mg/dL increase above 400 mg/dL glucose. Read answer.
Q. Payers are limiting reimbursement for PCR respiratory panels to a small subset of tested pathogens and only with certain indications. Many panels available from manufacturers test for more pathogens than can be reimbursed. What is the best approach to deal with this issue? Should large respiratory panels no longer be offered? If a large panel is performed, should only a limited number of pathogen results be reported, even though the entire panel was performed? Should the entire panel be reported but only a limited number of pathogens billed for? Read answer.

Q&A column

July 2021
Q. Our lab does not have reference ranges established for body fluid manual differentials. Is it acceptable to use ranges from a reference material and include a disclaimer citing the source of the ranges? Read answer.
Q. In our lab, we perform semen analysis and make slides to send out for sperm morphology using Kruger’s strict criteria. We get quite a few results back as swollen sperm head for probable contamination. The reference lab insisted that liquefying agent was added, but when we reviewed the results, the sample was normal, so liquefying agent wasn’t used. What can cause a sperm head to swell, other than liquefying agent? Read answer.

MARKETPLACE

TRENDING