[Histonet] Question: Homegrown Controls

[Amanda Woolsey]

To Whom It May Concern,

I am trying to contact Peggy Wenk in regards to the text below.
I would really like to ask a few questions about the procedure outlined.

Thank you,

Amanda Woolsey, HTL
Histology - Pathology
Primary Children's Medical Center
Salt Lake City, Utah


[Histonet] AFB Control
Lee & Peggy Wenk lpwenk <@t> covad.net
Sat Mar 6 14:10:00 CST 2004

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Someone asked a similar question about 2 weeks ago, but about gram controls.
I included in my response that the technique also works for AFB, fungus and
spirochetes.

I'm therefore reprinting my response from 2 weeks ago:

= = = = = = = = = =
Start with fresh, unfixed placenta or lung.
- If lung, slightly edematous works best.
- If placenta, press between towels several times, to try to get the excess
RBCs out.

Gross tissue into 2-3 mm cubes.

Contact microbiology to let them know you are on your way (after previously
talking with the supervisor days earlier about your needs).

Have the microbiology prepare tubes of liquid incubating media (appropriate
for the type(s) of micro-organism(s) you need).
- Gram negative (E. coli works well)
- Gram positive
- AFB (non-pathogenic)
- Fungus
- Spirochetes (rarely is it ever syphilis. Usually some type of large
spirochete, unfortunately. When large spirochetes are positive with the
silver stains, the small syphilis are not being demonstrated yet.)

(Helicobacter, as far as I know, cannot be grown in incubating media in
routine microbiology labs.)

Incubate tissue in culture media in 37 degree C. incubator overnight.

Pour 10% NBF in tubes in morning, and allow to fix for 30-60 minutes. Pour
out formalin/incubating media mixture, and pour in fresh NBF. Allow to fix
all day.

Place tissues in cassettes, label, process as usual. Embed.

Write up cost containment report, on how you make X number of blocks of
control tissues, which would equal Y number of slides. Which, if you had to
buy them from an outside source would have cost you $Z amount of money. And
the cost for you to do this procedures was a little bit of tech time, a few
cassettes and some paraffin. Therefore, you just saved your facility lots of
money! Document the collaboration between Histology and Microbiology.
Everyone looks like a winner.

Peggy A. Wenk, HTL(ASCP)SLS
William Beaumont Hospital
Royal Oak, MI 48073