American journal of clinical pathology
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Am. J. Clin. Pathol. · Aug 1992
Breast carcinoma simulating fibroadenoma or fibrocystic change by fine-needle aspiration. A study of 16 cases.
The cytologic features of fine-needle aspiration specimens from 16 breast carcinomas that closely simulated benign lesions were analyzed and compared to smears from fibroadenomas and fibrocystic change. No combination of features was found that accurately separated all benign and malignant cases. Many nuclei with discernible small nucleoli in smears with many single bipolar nuclei indicated a benign lesion, whereas nuclear hyperchromasia indicated a malignant one.
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Am. J. Clin. Pathol. · May 1992
Malignant lymphoma of the breast. Immunologic type and association with lymphocytic mastopathy.
Clinical and pathologic findings in 19 cases of primary non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the breast collected from several hospitals in Japan were reviewed. All patients were women (median age, 45 years) and they usually had breast masses that had recently become enlarged. The sites of the lesions were the right breast in eight cases, the left breast in eight, and both breasts in one. ⋯ Histologic and immunohistochemical evidence of lymphocytic mastopathy, a recently described autoimmune disease of the breast, was found in most of the cases. Formation of lymphoid follicles in or around the tumors was found in five cases (26%). Based on these findings, it is suggested that most mammary lymphomas are B-cell tumors and they may be associated with coexisting or antecedent lymphocytic mastopathy.
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Am. J. Clin. Pathol. · Apr 1992
Evaluation of a soft-handling computerized pneumatic tube specimen delivery system. Effects on analytical results and turnaround time.
A computerized pneumatic tube specimen delivery system with system-wide air cushion soft handling features was evaluated. There were no significant differences in values (largely normal) for components of a standard chemical profile or complete blood count in specimens delivered from the outpatient center or neonatal intensive care unit by pneumatic tube compared to couriers. ⋯ The pneumatic tube system decreased the median turnaround time for potassium and hemoglobin results on specimens from the emergency department by 25%. The system evaluated is a rapid, efficient mechanism for sending specimens to the clinical laboratory that produces no significant effects on analytical results and has the ability to decrease turnaround time.
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Am. J. Clin. Pathol. · Feb 1992
Comparative StudyThawing fresh frozen plasma in a microwave oven. A comparison with thawing in a 37 degrees C waterbath.
We show in this report that fresh frozen plasma (FFP) can be thawed faster using a specifically designed microwave oven (MWO) (WesLabs Plasma Defroster, Westmorland Laboratories, Inc., New Brunswick, Canada) than using 37 degrees C water bath (WB) and that the thawed product was equivalent to FFP thawed by WB. Paired plasma bags (200 mL/bag) from plasma pools were frozen, stored at -35 degrees C, and thawed in parallel, one bag in MWO, the other in WB. ⋯ Except for thrombin time (MWO = 20.1 seconds; WB = 19.8 seconds; n = 24; P = 0.023), no significant differences were observed in the 23 other coagulation parameters and plasma proteins studied. Faster thawing and freedom from risk of contamination may make MWO the method of choice for emergency thawing of FFP.
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Am. J. Clin. Pathol. · Dec 1991
Laboratory hemostatic abnormalities in massively transfused patients given red blood cells and crystalloid.
Most of the literature on massive transfusion concerns whole blood replacement, whereas clinically, packed red blood cells are commonly given. To determine when hemostatic abnormalities occur in patients resuscitated primarily with packed red blood cells and crystalloid, the cases of 39 consecutive patients who were transfused with 10 or more red blood cell units of any kind within 24 hours were reviewed. After transfusion with 20 or more units of red blood cell products of any kind (packed red blood cells, cell-saver units, or whole blood), 75% (3 of 4) of patients had platelet counts less than 50 x 10(9)/L, compared to 0 of 29 patients given less than 20 units (P less than 0.001). ⋯ Importantly, probably clinically significant prothrombin time and partial thromboplastin time prolongations occurred consistently after transfusion of 12 units of relatively plasma-free red blood cells in unselected patients at an urban trauma hospital. These data suggest that coagulation factor replacement is necessary in patients who receive 12 or more units of packed red blood cells or cell-saver blood, and platelet replacement is necessary in patients who receive 20 or more units of any red blood cell product. A prospective study is needed to determine whether the expected abnormal clinical bleeding indeed occurs in patients with such laboratory coagulation abnormalities and to determine when plasma transfusion is indicated in patients massively transfused with red blood cells.