FLT3 Internal Tandem Duplication in Patients With Acute Myeloid Leukemia Is Readily Detectable in a Single Next-Generation Sequencing Assay Using the Pindel Algorithm

No abstract available.

Report on the External Quality Assessment Scheme for Cytogenetics and Molecular Cytogenetics in Korea (2016–2017)

In both 2016 and 2017, the cytogenetic and molecular cytogenetic programs conducted three assessments for the Korean Association of External Quality Assessment Service. A total of six cases with chromosomal aberrations were distributed in 2016, and nine cases were examined in 2017 in the chromosome surveys. For the fluorescence in situ hybridization surveys, six cases and nine cases were assessed in 2016 and 2017, respectively. A total of 38 laboratories in 2016 and 39 laboratories in 2017 participated in the cytogenetics program. In the molecular cytogenetics program, a total of 32 laboratories participated in 2016, and 31 laboratories participated in 2017. Most of the participating laboratories showed acceptable results for the cytogenetics and molecular cytogenetics programs. For the unacceptable results, there were various annotation errors, suggesting the need for continuous education and quality control.

The First Case of Concurrent Infective Endocarditis and Spondylitis Caused by Streptococcus tigurinus

No abstract available.

Bone Marrow Flow Cytometry in Staging of Patients With B-cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

BACKGROUND: Bone marrow biopsies are routinely performed for staging patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). In addition to histomorphological studies, ancillary tools may be needed for accurate diagnosis. We investigated the clinical utility of multiparameter flow cytometric examination of bone marrow aspirates. METHODS: A total of 248 bone marrow specimens from 232 patients diagnosed with B-cell NHL were examined. Monoclonal antibodies directed against CD19, CD20, CD10 (or CD5), and kappa and lambda immunoglobulins were used. Multi-stage sequential gating was performed to select specific cells of interest, and the results were compared with bone marrow histology. RESULTS: The concordance rate between histomorphology and flow cytometry was 91.5% (n=227). Eight cases (3.2%) were detected by flow cytometry alone and were missed by histomorphology analysis, and 6 of these 8 cases showed minimal bone marrow involvement (0.09-2.2%). The diagnosis in these cases included large cell lymphoma (n=3), mantle cell lymphoma (n=3), and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma (n=2). Thirteen cases were histopathologically positive and immunophenotypically negative, and the diagnoses in these cases included diffuse large cell lymphoma (n=7), T-cell/histiocyte-rich large B-cell lymphoma (n=2), anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive large B-cell lymphoma (n=1), follicular lymphoma (n=1), MALT lymphoma (n=1), and unclassifiable lymphoma (n=1). CONCLUSIONS: Multi-color flow cytometry can be a useful method for assessing bone marrow in staging NHL and also plays a complementary role, especially in detecting small numbers of lymphoma cells.

Transfusion Strategy and Laboratory Update on the DEL Variant / 대한수혈학회지

Red cells that express extremely low levels of D antigen that cannot be detected by routine serologic tests are designated as DEL. Most DEL blood donors are typed as D-negative. However, DEL red blood cells can be recognized by serological adsorption and elution test or molecular RHD genotyping. Anti-D production in patients with D-negative who received transfusion containing DEL blood has reported, therefore distinction between DEL variant and true D- negative is clinically important. This review highlights a transfusion strategy and laboratory update on the DEL variant in the Korean population.

Dried Blood Spot Testing for Seven Steroids Using Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry With Reference Interval Determination in the Korean Population

BACKGROUND: Conventional screening for congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) using immunoassays generates a large number of false-positive results. A more specific liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method has been introduced to minimize unnecessary follow-ups. However, because of limited data on its use in the Korean population, LC-MS/MS has not yet been incorporated into newborn screening programs in this region. The present study aims to develop and validate an LC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous determination of seven steroids in dried blood spots (DBS) for CAH screening, and to define age-specific reference intervals in the Korean population. METHODS: We developed and validated an LC-MS/MS method to determine the reference intervals of cortisol, 17-hydroxyprogesterone, 11-deoxycortisol, 21-deoxycortisol, androstenedione, corticosterone, and 11-deoxycorticosterone simultaneously in 453 DBS samples. The samples were from Korean subjects stratified by age group (78 full-term neonates, 76 premature neonates, 89 children, and 100 adults). RESULTS: The accuracy, precision, matrix effects, and extraction recovery were satisfactory for all the steroids at three concentrations; values of intra- and inter-day precision coefficients of variance, bias, and recovery were 0.7-7.7%, -1.5-9.8%, and 49.3-97.5%, respectively. The linearity range was 1-100 ng/mL for cortisol and 0.5-50 ng/mL for other steroids (R2>0.99). The reference intervals were in agreement with the previous reports. CONCLUSIONS: This LC-MS/MS method and the reference intervals validated in the Korean population can be successfully applied to analyze seven steroids in DBS for the diagnosis of CAH.

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia with Mature B-Cell Phenotype and t(9;11;11)(p22;q23;p11.2): A Case Study and Literature Review

No abstract available.

Performance Evaluation of CareSens PRO Glucose Monitoring System / 임상검사와정도관리

BACKGROUND: Point-of-care testing (POCT) glucometers are widely used for the management of diabetic patients. We evaluated the analytical performance of the recently developed glucometer CareSens PRO (i-SENS Inc., Korea). METHODS: Linearity, precision, and correlation were evaluated according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines. Five levels of glucose obtained from patient samples were used to determine the linearity of the device response. Control materials with low, medium, and high levels of glucose were evaluated with two different CareSens PRO glucometers to determine their precision. Correlations were evaluated between venous plasma analyzed with Synchron CX3 Delta (Beckman Coulter Inc., USA) and capillary whole blood analyzed with CareSens PRO, and between venous whole blood analyzed with ADAMS GA-1171 (Arkray, Inc., Japan) and venous whole blood analyzed with CareSens PRO, respectively. The effect of hematocrit was assessed. RESULTS: The linearity in the glucose range of 25.5 to 535.0 mg/dL was R2=0.9988. The coefficients of variations (CVs) of within-run precision were 2.06 to 3.47% and the CVs of total precision were 2.99 to 5.38%. The correlations were as follows: r=0.9660 in the range of 68.0 to 404.0 mg/dL with Synchron CX3 Delta and r=0.9886 in the range of 20.5 to 511.0 mg/dL with ADAMS GA-1171. In the specimens containing glucose above 75 mg/dL, 91.2% and 98.9% of CareSens PRO results were within +/- 20% of the results by Synchron CX3 Delta and ADAMS GA-1171, respectively. Hematocrit influenced the glucose concentration. CONCLUSIONS: CareSens PRO displayed acceptable linearity and precision. For clinical application, it is necessary for the improvement of comparable analytical performance and careful interpretation according to hematocrit concentration.