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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

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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

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Q&A column

Q&A column

June 2021
Q. If an exfoliative cytology specimen (for example, pleural fluid) is received fresh, how long can it stay refrigerated before it needs to be placed in formalin fixative for cell block preparation? That is, what is the recommended cold ischemic time? Read answer.
Q. Are two levels of a control required for a manual reticulocyte count? Read answer.
Q. What are the requirements for obtaining emergency use authorization versus 510(k) clearance? Read answer.
Q. Are the PCR assays for SARS-CoV-2 from most manufacturers quantitative? Read answer.
Q. Is there a best specimen type to use for SARS-CoV-2 molecular testing? Read answer.
Q. What is the primary test type used to detect SARS-CoV-2? Read answer.
Q. I know that a molecular test detects nucleic acid and an antigen test detects viral protein, but how do they compare for clinical use and which is better? Read answer.

Q&A column

Q. I am part of a two-pathologist practice in a rural community hospital of 110 beds. We have been asked more frequently lately to evaluate liver and kidney biopsies for organ transplantation. We are hesitant to evaluate these biopsies for transplantation purposes due to frozen section artifacts and because we send all of our kidney biopsies performed by local nephrologists to a reference laboratory and do not evaluate kidney biopsies. It seems that regardless of what we say about the biopsies, the surgeons transplant the organs. We believe it is out of our scope of practice to evaluate liver and kidney biopsies for organ transplantation. What do you think? Read answer.
Q. What is the minimum and maximum formalin fixation time for cytology specimens for optimal immunohistochemical and nucleic-acid–based molecular testing? Read answer.

Q&A column

Q. What is the recommended procedure for analyzing cerebrospinal fluid from patients suspected of having Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease? In addition to sending the specimen to the National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center for 14-3-3 testing, should the laboratory perform a cell count and/or meningitis panel? Read answer. Q. Is light protection needed for folate samples? Most major reference laboratories do not require folate samples to be protected from light, and I could not find any studies on the topic. Read answer. Q. Many times a platelet count on an automated hematology system indicates some degree of thrombocytopenia or the analyzer reports a high mean platelet volume or platelet large cell ratio, while a blood smear shows large platelets and/or giant platelets. Is it OK to include a comment in the report that the platelets are adequate or that the count could be due to large platelets, especially with values that indicate marked thrombocytopenia? Read answer.

Q&A column

Q. In our hospital, respiratory therapy runs most of the blood gas tests on instruments in centralized locations. Staff are able to enter into the blood gas instrument, which is connected to the LIS, to whom they gave critical results. However, staff do not have a way to document that a result was read back. The majority of these critical results happen in the neonatal intensive care and intensive care units, where respiratory therapy is a part of the care team, so results are given in person. Is documenting a read-back necessary when critical results are communicated verbally? How does the CAP checklist COM.30100 relate to point-of-care testing? Read answer.

Q&A column

Q.
 Can toxicology testing be performed on a person who has been deceased for two years? Read answer.
Q. Is there a standardized procedure for performing platelet estimates that incorporates the dilution effect for low hemoglobin in anemic patients? The formula I found for platelet estimation works well with low hemoglobin levels but not with levels greater than 13 g/dL. Read answer.

Q&A column

Q. If an instrument is moved a short distance, is it necessary to conduct revalidation? Read answer.
Q. At what level or time is aPTT considered incorrect? Is an aPTT of less than 22.0 seconds an acceptable result? Read answer.

Q&A column

Q. Can a heel stick for a basic metabolic panel with magnesium and phosphorus be performed on a two-month-old baby? Read answer.
Q. Due to nationwide supply shortages affecting COVID-19 and other testing in the laboratory, we are concerned about using up critical supplies when assessing competency. Do you have suggestions or strategies we can use? Read answer.
Q. When a patient is admitted to our hospital, we collect MRSA nares PCR, MRSA axilla by culture, MRSA groin by culture, and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus by PCR for infection control purposes. Many surrounding facilities have told us they have removed the axilla and groin cultures, but no references were cited to support removing these procedures. Our facility would like to follow the practices of other hospitals, but our providers would like a reference to cite.

Are there best practices or benchmarks from an infection control and microbiology point of view that would allow us to remove the axilla and groin MRSA screen cultures? Read answer.

Q&A column

Q. What can laboratories expect to see after a medication such as Narcan is given for an opioid overdose? Read answer.
Q. There are conflicting views among my colleagues regarding the meaning of initial competency assessment. Some think that using a training checklist for new staff counts as the initial competency assessment because we are signing off that staff are competent to perform patient testing and report results. Others believe an initial competency assessment is done shortly after training is completed, followed by the mid-cycle/six-month competency assessment and annual competency assessment. Please clarify. Read answer.
Q. How do you calculate RDW-SD and RDW-CV values in dimorphic anemia cases on the Sysmex XN-3000? Most of the dimorphic anemia cases report a masked parameter. Read answer.

Q&A column

Q. What is the minimum cutoff value for total nucleated cells and red blood cells in body fluids after which we need to perform cytospin? Read answer.
Q. We treat all elevated troponins as critical values that necessitate a phone call to the ordering physician and documentation on the patient’s chart. Is this necessary? How does it affect patient treatment? Read answer.

Q&A column

Q. Is the evaluation of gene copies by RT-PCR or multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification a qualitative or quantitative assay? Copy number analysis of genes or chromosomes determines a numerical value, with a normal autosomal count being two. However, an FDA-approved microarray test (CytoScan Dx assay, Thermo Fisher Scientific) is labeled as a qualitative assay for the detection of copy number variations. Read answer.
Q. How does using sodium heparin, in an attempt to reduce EDTA-induced platelet clumps, affect the platelet count? Read answer.
Q. How do you know whether thyroid-stimulating hormone isoforms have been measured in an assay when the TSH levels are very high and free T4 is considerably less than the reference interval (i.e. less than 50 percent of the reference interval)? Read answer.

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