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Objectives: Despite more than 40 years of experience performing the Bethesda assay (BA), poor intra- and interlaboratory precision remains the biggest laboratory challenge to date., Methods: The BA procedure was modeled using stochastic simulation techniques to determine the precision of the BA up to dilutions of 1:4,096, to estimate the minimum significant relative change at various inhibitor titers, and to understand the laboratory procedural variables that could significantly affect the performance of the BA at high dilutions., Results: Selecting the lowest dilution tube with a residual activity closest to 25% for calculating the reported Bethesda titer (BT), using a factor activity assay with a coefficient of variation less than or equal to 7.5% in the range of 15% to 50% factor activity level, performing the factor activity measurement in replicates, and minimizing pipette volumetric error resulted in the lowest imprecision in the reported BT. The factor neutralization kinetics of the inhibitor appear to have little impact on the precision of the assay if the incubation time is greater than 90 minutes., Conclusions: This in silico model will assist future laboratory efforts in standardizing the quantification of specific coagulation factor inhibitors and improving the precision of the reported results., (© American Society for Clinical Pathology, 2020. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Objectives: Patients with hereditary/congenital platelet disorders (HPDs) have a broad range of clinical manifestations and laboratory phenotypes. We assessed the performance characteristics of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis bleeding assessment tool (ISTH-BAT) and clinically validated platelet laboratory tests for diagnosis of HPDs., Methods: The records of 61 patients with suspected HPDs were reviewed and ISTH-BAT scores calculated., Results: Nineteen (31%) patients had thrombocytopenia, and 46 (75%) had positive ISTH-BAT scores. Thirteen and 17 patients had prolonged PFA-100 (Dade Behring, Miami, FL) adenosine diphosphate and epinephrine closure times, respectively. Twenty-two had abnormal platelet light transmission aggregation. Twenty-four had platelet transmission electron microscopy (PTEM) abnormalities (10 dense granule deficiency, 14 other ultrastructural abnormalities). Positive ISTH-BAT scores were associated with thrombocytopenia (P < .0001) and abnormal PTEM (P = .002). Twenty-three patients had normal results., Conclusions: ISTH-BAT identified patients with suspected HPDs but lacked a robust association with laboratory abnormalities. Despite comprehensive laboratory testing, some patients may have normal results., (© American Society for Clinical Pathology, 2017. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com)

To assess current laboratory practice and the performance of different reagent-instrument combinations for protein S testing, protein S results from the North American Specialized Coagulation Laboratory Association (NASCOLA) proficiency testing surveys for 2002 and the first half of 2003 were analyzed. A written survey of NASCOLA laboratories also was performed to further assess current laboratory practices for protein S testing. The free protein S antigen assays and the Diagnostica Stago Staclot protein S assay were extremely accurate in detecting a heterozygous type I protein S deficiency. Another functional protein S assay and most total protein S assays were less reliable, depending to some extent on the instrument. All assays used by NASCOLA laboratories appropriately identified normal protein S specimens. NASCOLA laboratories performed at least as well as European Concerted Action on Thrombosis laboratories in the proficiency tests. The results suggest that the diagnosis of heterozygous protein S deficiency may be problematic with some currently available assays. Many total protein S antigen assays do not add to the diagnosis and can be unreliable for protein S deficiency subtyping. Better standardization of functional and antigenic assays is needed.

The leukemic cells from 15 cases of Philadelphia chromosome-positive blastic leukemia were immunophenotyped by the alkaline phosphatase anti-alkaline phosphatase (APAAP) immunocytochemical technic using nine monoclonal antibodies (MoAb) reactive with various myeloid or lymphoid antigens. On the basis of morphology, cytochemistry, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT) reactivity, and electron microscopy, five of the cases had been classified as lymphoid; eight, myeloid; one, mixed myeloid-lymphoid; and one, undifferentiated. The blasts from all five lymphoid cases were reactive with lymphocyte differentiation antigen MoAb, and four of five reacted with MoAb to anti-common acute lymphoblastic leukemia-associated antigen (CALLA) (BA3). The blasts from all eight myeloid cases were reactive with MY7, a marker of myelomonocytic differentiation. Some of the blasts from three of the eight myeloid cases reacted with HP1-1D and AP3, markers of megakaryocytic differentiation; megakaryocyte differentiation was confirmed by electron microscopy. In the case classified as mixed myeloid-lymphoid, the blasts showed morphologic and immunophenotypic heterogeneity; ultrastructural studies demonstrated lymphoid, basophil, and erythroid differentiation. The blasts from the case classified as undifferentiated were immunophenotypically heterogeneous. In all cases in which the leukemic cells were also immunophenotyped by flow cytometry, the results correlated well with those obtained by the APAAP technic. The APAAP technic is a reliable method for immunophenotyping leukemias. Advantages of this method include its applicability to routinely prepared blood and bone marrow smears and cytocentrifuge preparations, lack of endogenous peroxidase background staining, and a permanent record.