Search

Many laboratories in physicians' offices may not be performing as well as traditional labs when analyzing specimen samples. Labs in physicians' offices can analyze samples more quickly using machines that automate much of the process. A survey of 1,110 California labs found that three times as many physicians' office labs (POLs) performed unsatisfactorily compared to traditional labs in hospitals and independent labs. POLs that had qualified medical technicians were more likely to perform satisfactorily.

Most medical testing laboratories are following the recommendations of the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards when testing samples of Streptococcus pneumoniae for its sensitivity to antibiotics. This bacterium causes pneumonia, otitis media, and meningitis, and it is becoming resistant to many antibiotics. For this reason, labs test the bacterium to see which antibiotics can be used to treat these infections.

Many microbiology laboratories are not testing Staphylococcus aureus strains for resistance to the antibiotic vancomycin. In a survey of 369 microbiology laboratories that participate in the Active Bacterial Core Surveillance (ABCs)/Emerging Infections Program (EIP) Network, about 40% did not test Staphylococcus aureus strains for reduced susceptibility to vancomycin. Even fewer tested Enterobacteriaceae for the production of extended spectrum beta-lactamases, which make the bacteria resistant to beta-lactam antibiotics. Smaller hospital-based laboratories, managed-care-based laboratories, and laboratories from specific ABCs/EIP state locations did not report testing for these resistant organisms.

Fluorescence polarization immunoassay (FPIA) appears to be more reliable than other methods for measuring blood levels of homocysteine. Elevated blood levels of this amino acid have been linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. The Centers for Disease Control evaluated homocysteine measurements performed at 14 different laboratories. Some used high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), others gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and others used FPIA. FPIA produced the least variation when used by different labs on the same blood samples.