[Histonet] Re: Diff-Quik

[Tony Henwood]

Robert,

I agree with your comments.
There are some labs that never look at their slides (the "factories") but there are others (and this number in my experience is increasing) where the technologists often solve the problems before the slides leave the lab.

Regards

Tony Henwood JP, MSc, BAppSc, GradDipSysAnalys, CT(ASC)
Laboratory Manager & Senior Scientist
Tel: 612 9845 3306
Fax: 612 9845 3318
the children's hospital at westmead 
Cnr Hawkesbury Road and Hainsworth Street, Westmead 
Locked Bag 4001, Westmead NSW 2145, AUSTRALIA 




-----Original Message-----
From: histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu [mailto:histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Robert Richmond
Sent: Wednesday, 27 January 2010 12:39 PM
To: histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
Subject: [Histonet] Re: Diff-Quik


I sort of apologize for this ill-natured comment, which long-term readers of Histonet know I've made before.

I do locum tenens work, mostly in rather small pathology services - I've worked in perhaps 60 of them in my life. Only rarely do I observe that a histotech ever looks at a slide. I've just acquired a new client with particularly difficult slides. The tech doesn't even have a microscope.

The more quality assurance paperwork I have to do, the worse the slides.

The lack of feedback from pathologist to technologist is a really widespread and serious problem. Most pathologists are completely unwilling to take the time to do it, and the usage has never established itself. It would be much easier if we had double headed microscopes, which seem to be prohibited in small pathology services.

Did Edwards Deming live in vain?

Bob Richmond
Samurai Pathologist
Knoxville TN
*************************************
On Tue, Jan 26, 2010 at 9:03 AM, Cheri Miller <cmiller <@t> physlab.com> wrote:
> Every slide I stain, special stains, IHC or otherwise I check under 
> the scope...I have taught all my techs to do the same, other than 
> batches of  H&E and then we check the 1st slide in each rack. I know 
> this to be a common procedure with many histology professionals. The 
> attitude can be left in your lab please. Thank you
>
> Cheryl Miller HT ASCP CM
> Histology Supervisor
> Physicians Laboratory Services
> Omaha, NE. 402 731 4148
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu 
> [mailto:histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Robert Richmond
> Sent: Monday, January 25, 2010 7:50 PM
> To: histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
> Subject: [Histonet] Re: Diff-Quik
>
> Thanks, John Kiernan, for your explanation of Romanovsky stains.
>
> "Diff-Quik" (please note the spelling) is the trademarked name of a 
> staining sequence consisting of a fixative, eosin (Diff-Quik I), and 
> an azure (Diff-Quik II), done in that order in three separate 
> containers.  I'm not sure who the trademark presently belongs to - it 
> seems to change with the phases of the Moon.
>
> There are a number of generic equivalents, which in my personal 
> experience all work as well as trademark Diff-Quik. For most ordinary 
> pathology services, it isn't worthwhile to try to brew your own.
>
> I don't think I've seen bone marrow stained with such a sequence. 
> Proper staining of bone marrows requires that the histotechnologist 
> examine the slides under a microscope, a practice too many find 
> abhorrent.
>
> Bob Richmond
> Samurai Pathologist
> Knoxville TN

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