Too many precautions for pathology laboratories?

Adolescents and MP3 players: too many risks, too few precautions.

OBJECTIVE The goal was to assess risky and protective listening behaviors of adolescent users of MP3 players and the association of these behaviors with demographic characteristics and frequency of use. METHODS In 2007, 1687 adolescents (12-19 years of age) in 68 classes in 15 Dutch secondary schools were invited to complete questionnaires about their music-listening behaviors. RESULTS . Ni...

How many "me-too" drugs is too many?

ON AUGUST 3, 2009, THE US FOOD AND DRUG ADministration (FDA) approved pitavastatin (Livalo), making it the eighth statin approved for use in the United States and seventh currently available for sale. This approval comes almost a quarter century after that for the first member of the class, lovastatin, 8 years after generic lovastatin was approved and 4 years after 2 additional statins, pravast...

Therapeutic cytapheresis: too many platelets, too many white blood cells.

Myeloproliferative disorders may present with thrombocytosis and/or leukocytosis with symptoms ranging from minor to life-threatening. Therapeutic cytapheresis (TC), the removal of excess and/or abnormal cells such as platelets and white blood cells, can be used to rapidly reduce cells in the symptomatic patient. The patient's clinical status determines the need for TC as symptoms may not corre...

Who manages pathology laboratories?

In 1974 the DHSS issued circular HSC(lS)16, Organisation of Scientific and Technical Services, which provided an operational framework for the reorganised NHS and took into account some of the recommendations of the Zuckerman Report.1 Since 1974 there has been growing concern about the inadequacy of HSC(lS)16, and a few laboratories have experienced difficulties in trying to operate an effectiv...

Too few physicians, or too many?