Diagnostics Flashcards

1
Q

What do the different coloured caps represent on blood sample tubes?

A

o RED top = no anticoagulant

o YELLOW top = have gel to speed up clot

o PURPLE top = have potassium EDTA

o GREY top = have fluoride oxalate (poison)

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2
Q

Why would you want potassium EDTA in the sample tube?

A
  • keep the cells alive -> for test involving RBCs, WBCs or platelets
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3
Q

Why would you want fluoride oxalate in the sample tube?

A
  • a poison that kills RBCs -> used to measure blood glucose -> if RBCs are alive they will consume the glucose
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4
Q

What colour capped tube is used for U&E?

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A
  • serum in yellow or red
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5
Q

What colour capped tube is used for glucose?

A
  • plasma in grey
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6
Q

What colour capped tube is used for HBA1c?

A
  • plasma in purple
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7
Q

What colour capped tube is used for TFT?

A
  • serum in yellow or red
  • any hormone goes in a yellow or red top
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8
Q

What colour capped tube is used for liver function tests?

A
  • yellow or red top
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9
Q

What is a blue top container used for?

A
  • contains citrate -> an anticoagulant
  • used to measure clotting factors
  • is reversible which makes it useful
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10
Q

When do you need to contact a chemical pathologist?

A
  • want the sample to be rapidly centrifuged out of hours
  • want to measure labile hormones such as insulin
  • urgently need CSF glucose and protein to be measured -> meningitis (or another bacteria then they will consume the glucose) and as lumbar puncture is usually only done when a patient is very ill
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11
Q

What is a maculopapular rash and name one disease associated wih it?

A
  • some raised areas and some flat covering the entire body
  • measles
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12
Q

Define a dermatomal rash and name a disease in which it is featured.

A
  • a rash confined to a few dermatomes
  • shingles
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13
Q

What can be detected in a virology lab?

A
  • Infectious Virus -> virus isolation and electron microscopy
  • Protein Components (antigens) on the virus -> e.g. p24 antigen in HIV, surface antigen in HBV etc.
  • Genetic Components of the virus (DNA or RNA)
  • Host Response -> antibody or cell responses
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14
Q

Define sensitivity.

A
  • the test’s ability to correctly identify positive samples
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15
Q

Define specificity.

A
  • the test’s ability to correctly identify negative samples
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16
Q

Which antibody is a marker of recent infection?

A
  • IgM
  • IgG comes later on
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17
Q

What samples are typically sent off for virology testing?

A
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18
Q

What are the 4 main diagnostic techniques used in bacteriology labs?

A
  • culture
  • serology
  • molecular techniques
  • anti-microbial suspectibility testing
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19
Q

Name the main use of cultures.

A
  • work out what antibiotic to use
20
Q

What are the major problems with cultures?

A
  • takes about 24 hours to grow the bacteria and another 24 hours to do the susceptibility testing
  • good in sterile sites (CSF, blood etc), because there should NOT be any bacteria so an grows is abnormal -> however in non-sterile sites (skin or gut), there are loads of bacteria that could have colonised but may not be causing any problems
21
Q

When is serology used?

A
  • to check the bodies response to infection
  • if the organism can’t be cultured -> syphilis
22
Q

Why are molecular techniques not commonly used?

A
  • rapid and sensitive but there is a range of resistance genes
  • is good for MRSA as the encoded resistence is in the MecA gene
23
Q

Which of the four main bacteriology tests is the most useful to doctors in general?

A
  • antimicrobial suspectibility testing -> checks to see if antibiotics are effective on the bacteria
24
Q

Describe the process leading to a positive blood culture diagnosis.

A
  • blood is added to broth inside bottles that has nutrients for the bacteria and then it is incubated (around 37 degrees)
  • there is an indicator at the bottom of the tub, the waste products of the bacteria will cause a change in colour of the indicator at the bottom -> is effectively a glorified pH detector
  • this process take around 18-24 hours
25
Q

What happens after a positive blood culture result occurs?

A
  • a confirmation of whether the blood cultures are positive or negative
  • generally: -ve = skin and soft tissue +ve = abdomen and urinary tract
26
Q

If possible, at what point should blood cultures be sent?

A
  • before administration of antibiotics -> with most bacteria there is a small window where you can test the cultures before giving antibiotics
  • ANTIBIOTICS IMMEDIATELY GIVEN IN PATIENTS WITH MENINGITIS OR MENINGOCOCCAL SEPTICAEMIA
27
Q

What is the point of the staphylococci coagulase test?

A
  • to distinguish between coagulase positive and staphylococci

o Coagulase POSITIVE = STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS (the most important of coagulase positive staphylococci) -> coagulase is a virulence factor which helps Staphylococcus aureus to cause infection

o Coagulase NEGATIVE = common skin microbes -> don’t tend to cause infection unless there are some opportunistic circumstances (e.g. central lines, prosthetic joints)

28
Q

What are possible causes of diarrhoea?

A

o bacteria: common -> Salmonella (including S. typhi), Shigella, Campylobacter

uncommon -> E.Coli, C. difficile, Cholera

o parasites: Amoeba, Giardia, Cryptospordium (uncommon)

o viruses: generally associated with acute symptoms

29
Q

What 3 bacteria are commonly screeened in stool samples?

A

o Salmonella

o Shigella

o Campylobacter

  • any others have to be requested specifically
30
Q

Define Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC).

A
  • the lowest amount of antibiotic required to inhibit the growth of bacteria in vitro
31
Q

When is a bacteria reported as being resistant?

A
  • if the MIC is above the breakpoint from the guidelines
  • breakpoint is the point in which the concentration is not going to be clinical possible
32
Q

What is the role of histopathologists?

A

o interested in tissues

  • biopsies
  • resection specimens
  • frozen sections -> when the patient is in surgery and an answer is needed
  • post-mortems
33
Q

What is the role of cytopathologists?

A

o interested in cells

  • smears -> cervical smears fro cancer is the most common
  • fine needle aspirates
34
Q

How are section obtained?

A
  • specimens are recieved -> must be properly labelled
  • fixed in formalin
  • embedded in paraffin wax and sections are cut
35
Q

What tests are carried out on sections in histopathology?

A
  • stained
  • identification of specific antigens -> immunohistochemistry
  • molecular tests
  • microscopy
36
Q

Which part of antibodies are variable and constant?

A
  • constant = Fc
  • variable = Fab
37
Q

What can be conjugated to antibodies in labs/for treatment?

A
  • enzymes
  • fluorescent probes
  • magnetic beads -> purification of cell types
  • drugs -> target particular tumours
38
Q

How are monoclonal antibodies produced?

A
  • normal B lymphocyte, are taken from the spleen, which is producing the antibody of interest and you FUSE IT with a myeloma cell line -> gives you a HYBRIDOMA
  • these cells have the ability to produce the antibody of interest -> as it is fused with a tumour cell, it can divide indefinitely to produce great numbers of thje antibodies
39
Q

What are the therapeutic uses of manufactured antibodies?

A
  • prophylactic protection against microbial infection
  • anti-cancer therapy
  • removal of T-cells from bone marrow grafts
  • block cytokine activity
40
Q

What are the diagnostic uses of manufactured antibodies?

A
  • tissue typing
  • blood group serology
  • immunoassays -> hormones, antibodies, antigens
  • immunodiagnosis -> infectious disease, autoimmunity, allergy, malignancy
41
Q

Where is immune complexes the biggest problem?

A
  • kidney function
42
Q

If immunodeficiency is suspected clinical, what tests would ran in an immunology lab?

A
  • serum immunoglobulin levels - serum electrophoresis, ELISA
  • specific antibodies - protein antigens or polysaccharides antigens
  • lymphocyte subsets
43
Q

Describe the natural history of HIV infection.

A
  • someone who hasn’t had HIV treatment

o BLUE - CD4 T cell count

o RED - viral load

  • primary infection - CD4 will initially go down and then it will go up again after a few weeks
  • viral remains controlled by the immune system for some time (clinical latency) -> viral load wont change that much during this time but CD4 will keep going down
  • when the CD4 count gets very low, the patient will start showing signs of opportunistic infection -> CD4 count continues to go down, the viral load will go up
  • a patient that has been diagnosed with HIV, you would monitor their CD4 count and measure their viral load
  • once their CD4 reaches a certain level you would start antiretroviral therapy
44
Q

What disease appear when CD4 starts to drop in HIV?

A
45
Q

Name a pneumonia only seen in immunocompromised.

A
  • Pneumocystic pneumonia