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In this issue
Social Mediain HealthcareMayo ClinicStyle
FlexibleWorking Keyto FutureManpowerIssues
British BiochemistsWin Open
NationalMeeting SecretarySought
Culture andPathology in Wales
The Association for Clinical Biochemistry & Laboratory Medicine | Issue 643 | November 2016
ACBNews
About ACB NewsThe Editor is responsible for the finalcontent. Views expressed are not necessarily those of the ACB. EditorProfessor Jonathan BergDepartment of Clinical BiochemistryCity HospitalDudley RoadBirmingham B18 7QHTel: 07792-912163/0121-507-5353Fax: 0121-507-5290Email: [email protected]
Associate Editors Mrs Sophie BarnesDepartment of Clinical Biochemistry12th Floor, Lab BlockCharing Cross HospitalFulham Palace RoadLondon W6 8RFEmail: [email protected]
Dr Gina Frederick Pathology Laboratory, Level 5Royal Derby HospitalUttoxeter RoadDerby DE22 3NEEmail: [email protected]
Mr Ian HanningDepartment of Clinical BiochemistryHull Royal InfirmaryAnlaby RoadHull HU3 2JZEmail: [email protected]
Dr Derren Ready Microbial DiseasesEastman Dental Hospital University College London Hospitals (UCLH) 256 Gray’s Inn Road London WC1X 8LD Email: [email protected]
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ACB Home Pagehttp://www.acb.org.uk
Printed by Swan Print Ltd, BedfordISSN 1461 0337© Association for Clinical Biochemistry &Laboratory Medicine 2016
ACBNews
General News page 4
Practice FRCPath Style Calculations page 10
Current Topics page 12
Meeting Reports page 18
ACB News Crossword page 20
Issue 643 • November 2016
The monthly magazine for clinical science
Issue 643 | November 2016 | ACB News
Front cover: The new intake ofHSST Trainees, meeting inBirmingham in October alongwith their supervisors
4 | General News
ACB News | Issue 643 | November 2016
National MeetingSecretaryThe ACB are looking for an enthusiasticvolunteer to take over the role of NationalMeeting Secretary from Ian Godber when hedemits from office after Focus 2017 in Leeds.The role involves chairing the NationalMeetings Committee and liaising with ACBCommittees for Focus and FiLM. The ACB wouldlike to appoint someone into this role soon sothat they can work with Ian in the run up toboth the 2017 FiLM and Focus meetings. Forfurther information please contact Ian Godber on 01236 712109 or by email [email protected] �
SudokuThis month’s puzzle
Lastmonth’ssolution
HCPC Consultation on CPD GuidanceThe Health and Care Professions Council(HCPC) has launched a consultation on revisedCPD guidance. Proposed changes aim toimprove the style and content of the ‘CPD and your registration’ guidancedocument including:
� Flow diagram summarising the audit process.� Information on putting a CPD profiletogether so it focuses on the important key points.
� Clearer about the need in an audit tosubmit a dated list of activities todemonstrate that standard 1 has been met.
� Encouraging registrants who have anannotation in the Register to considerwhether they should undertake CPD in this area.
The consultation will run from 3rd October2016 to 13th January 2017. Outcomes areexpected to be considered by the Educationand Training Committee and the Council inMarch 2017 and published in early summer2017. To take part in the consultation pleasecomplete the online survey, [email protected] or write to:Consultation on CPD Guidance, Policy andStandards Department, Health and CareProfessions Council, Park House,184Kennington Park Road, London SE11 4BU. �
Survey on FlexibleWorkingIn this issue there is an article by RachelWheeler and Sarah Beck highlighting issuesregarding flexible working. The intention isthat there will be further articles looking atthis area and that these will include someresults of readers feedback. To this end, Sarah and Rachel have designed an electronicsurvey which they would appreciate peopletaking a few minutes to complete. The link to the survey is contained on a hyperlink herefor those reading the PDF electronic copy of ACB News: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/Y6ZXD5V �
The National Eisteddfod is a festivalcelebrating Welsh culture, music, art, literatureand science held annually at differentlocations throughout Wales; this year held inAbergavenny, for the first week of August.One of the most popular themed tents is theScience and Technology Pavilion; here a widerange of practical science, technology activitiesand demonstrations are provided for thepublic. The Disease Detectives Pathology standwas a joint RCPath/ACB/IBMS venturesupported by 42 volunteers from fourdifferent health boards (Aneurin Bevan UHB,Cwm Taf UHB, Cardiff and Vale UHB andAbertawe Bro Morgannwg UHB) includingHealth Care Support Workers, BiomedicalScientists, Clinical Scientists and Pathologistsfrom Biochemistry, Haematology, Histologyand Microbiology. The aims of the stand wereto:
� Promote and raise awareness of thecontribution of various pathology disciplines.
� Encourage children and adults to considercareers in pathology.
Red Cabbage Test
Visitor figures published by the Eisteddfodshowed that over 8 days there were over 140,000 visitors to the Eisteddfod. Every day there was at least one
representative from each discipline and atleast one fluent Welsh speaker. Each disciplinehad practical activities which allowed visitorsthe opportunity to conduct simple laboratoryinvestigations. Bilingual discipline specificposters with key facts about these pathologydisciplines were displayed. Volunteers guidedattendees through the activities and answeredquestions. Biochemistry activities were asimple urinalysis to test for protein andglucose using urine test strips and also pHtesting of “urine” samples using two differentmethods: red cabbage indicator reagent andpH strips. Haematology activities were a blood
cross matching experiment using saladspinners and pompoms to simulate the GelCard test and an activity about componenttherapy through a simple card sort activity.Histology activities were “pin the organ on theperson” and examining human cheek cellsunder a microscope which involved attendeespreparing a stained slide of their cheek cellsand examining them under the microscope.Microbiology used a hand washing activity toshow attendees just how good their handwashing technique was, using Glo-Germ geland UV light. For younger visitors bilingualcolouring sheets were provided.
How did we do?
A random selection of visitors were asked tocomplete an evaluation form; 82 evaluationforms were completed; 96.3% of visitorssurveyed saying that the stand helped thembetter understand pathology. All the activitiesreceived good feedback. The favouriteactivities were looking at cheek cells under the microscope, gel card simulation and handwashing.
Culture, Music and Pathology at theEisteddfod Reported by Gina Sankey and Fiona Stratford, South Wales
ACB News | Issue 643 | November 2016
6 | General News
The main reasons volunteers gave forsupporting the event were to promote publicunderstanding of pathology and to enthusepeople about pathology. There were some really lovely comments
from visitors and volunteers including:“I enjoyed seeing my daughter interested in
learning”; “The children’s activities wereexcellent”; and “I enjoyed hand washing andthe blood testing – I learned a lot”.The feed-back showed how much the public
enjoyed the stand and it was great to be ableto talk to children about science and adultsabout the role of pathology. We couldn’t have done this without the
commitment and enthusiasm of Dr FionaStratford (Royal Gwent Hospital) whoorganised the entire event. A huge thank you to the IBMS, ACB and Royal College ofPathologists for their support of the event,and also to the companies who kindly suppliedus with “incentives” for the public participantsincluding Roche, Chromsystems and AlphaLabs. And finally, a big thank you to all thevolunteers who gave up their time and madethis event such a success. �
Issue 643 | November 2016 | ACB News
General News | 7
8 | General News
ACB News | Issue 643 | November 2016
Biochemical Society Theme PanelThe Biochemical Society announced that they have recently instigated a new theme panel todiscuss, develop and organise meetings in the area of Clinical and Translational Bioscience.The theme panel will contribute together with two others, Biosciences Theme Panel and
Education and Training Theme Panel to the activities of the Conferences Committee and theBiochemical Society meetings portfolio. This will be an exciting opportunity for establishedscientists to contribute to development of their field of research in the UK and abroad.They are inviting nominations for membership of this theme panel and would be delighted if
the ACB would consider nominating a number of its members for potential inclusion. Terms ofreference are outlined on the ACB website.Please send any thoughts, questions, or potential names of nominees to Adam Hughes by
email: [email protected] �
HCPC Professional Development AuditThe Health and Care Professions Council(HCPC) has published its continuingprofessional development (CPD) audit reportfor the period 2013-2015. In this period over8,000 registrants, across 16 professions wererandomly selected to submit CPD profiles.Nearly 81% of these met the CPD standardswith most accepted after their first assessment.The majority of registrants invited to submit
a profile engaged with the CPD process. Asmall minority sought voluntary deregistration(4.8%) or did not renew (3.2%). Someregistrants deferred their audit (10.7%) withthe most common reasons being on maternityleave or health issues. A small number of those selected for audit were removed fromthe Register (0.3%) because they had failed to submit either a CPD profile or furtherinformation in support of their profile, despite several opportunities to do so.Out of the fifteen professions that have
been audited more than once, nine have seenan increase in the number of profiles acceptedcompared to their previous audits. The reportalso supports recent research findings whichindicate that 90% of respondents said theyunderstood the standards ‘well’ or‘completely’ and 69% agreed that the current
standards encouraged them to reflect andthink critically about their practice.
Meeting CPDNatalie Berrie, Registrations Manager at theHCPC, explains that “CPD is an on-goingrequirement for all registrants to ensure thatthey continue to meet the CPD standards,keep their knowledge and skills up-to-date,and that they are able to work safely andeffectively. It is, therefore, really encouragingto see that in the majority of cases registrantsengaged in the process and were able todemonstrate links between ongoing learningand benefits to practice and service users inthe profiles they submitted. HCPC providesclear and accessible information to helpregistrants meet our CPD standards. We haveundertaken a review of our existing CPDguidance and will be consulting on proposedamendments later in the year.”There are a range of resources available to
registrants, including a video and infographichighlighting key information from the CPDaudit report; the ‘How to complete your CPD profile’ booklet; video guidance; anddedicated webpages that include sampleprofiles visit www.hcpc-uk.org/cpd �
ACB Web CalendarThe ACB is planning to introduce a web-based calendar to help with organising events
and meetings and avoiding clashes between them. Check it out at:
http://acb.org.uk/calendar
10 | Practice FRCPath Style Calculations
ACB News | Issue 643 | November 2016
Two solutions (A and B) have the following compositions:
A: 6 g anhydrous sodium dihydrogen orthophosphate in 500 mL water
B: 7.1 g anhydrous disodium hydrogen orthophosphate in 500 mL water
a) 50 mL of A is mixed with 50 mL B and the measured pH is 6.82. Calculate the pKa2.
b) 60 mL of A is mixed with 40 mL B. Calculate the expected pH.
First calculate the molar concentrations of phosphate in each of solutions A and B:
Concentration (mol/L) = Concentration (g/L)MW
For A: MW NaH2PO4 = 23 + (2 x 1) + 31 + (4 x 16) = 23 + 2 + 31 + 64 = 120
Concentration (mol/L) = 2 x 6 = 0.1 mol/L120
For B: MW Na2HPO4 = (2 x 23) + 1 + 31 + (4 x 16) = 46 + 1 + 31 + 64 = 142
Concentration (mol/L) = 2 x 7.1 = 0.1 mol/L142
a) If solutions A and B are mixed in equal proportions then the concentration of each phosphate species will become 0.05 mol/L. Therefore the pKa2 will be equal to the pH:
The dissociation to be considered is:
H2PO4–
↔ HPO42– + H+
and the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation is:
pH = pKa2 + log10 [Na2HPO4]
[NaH2PO4]
Which can be re-arranged to:
pKa2 = pH - log10 [Na2HPO4]
[NaH2PO4]
Substitute for pH and both phosphate concentrations and solve for pKa2:
pKa2 = 6.82 - log10 0.05 = 6.82 - log10 1 = 6.82 - 0 = 6.820.05
b) Calculate the final concentrations for each phosphate species when 60 mL of A is mixedwith 40 mL of B:
[NaH2PO4] = 0.1 x 60 = 0.06 mol/L100
Deacon’s Challenge No 186 - Answer
[Na2HPO4] = 0.1 x 40 = 0.04 mol/L100
Substitute these values into the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation and solve for pH:
pH = 6.82 + log10 0.040.06
pH = 6.82 + log10 0.6667
pH = 6.82 + (-0.18)
pH = 6.64
Practice FRCPath Style Calculations | 11
Issue 643 | November 2016 | ACB News
Question 187A solution contains 250 mg NADH disodium salt (formula C21H27N7O14P2Na2) per litre. A 1 in5 dilution transmits 36% of incident light at 340 nm (versus an appropriate blank) in a cellwith 1 cm path length.
a) Calculate the molar absorptivity of NADH.b) How much of the original solution will be needed to prepare 1 L of a solution with an
absorbance at 340 nm of 0.5 when measured in a cell with a path length of 0.5 cm?
To help take forward appropriate strategiesfor social media within the PathologyDepartment at SWBH NHS Trust I visited theMayo Clinic in Rochester, USA. Mayo Clinic iswell known as a pioneering healthcareorganisation. Co-ordinated social mediainitiatives at the Mayo Clinic commenced quite recently, around 2010 and they nowutilise the power of social media in multipleways to improve the patient experience oftheir services. My visit spanned five days and included a
structured social media course put on by theMayo Clinic, together with shadowing of theDirector of social media.
Mayo Social Media Workshop
The meeting was opened by Lee Aase, Directorof the Mayo Clinic, Centre for Social Media. He ‘kicked off’ the meeting by giving us a bitof background information about how hecame to be doing the job, having begunworking for the Mayo Clinic in 2000 in themedia relations team. Following a steadyoutput of television news feeds and radioprograms, Lee launched Mayo Clinic’s firstpodcast in 2005. This then led on to Mayodeveloping an extensive library of podcasts,blogs, a YouTube channel, a Facebook pageand a Twitter profile. In 2008, he becameMayo Clinic’s manager for syndication andsocial media and the Director in 2010. The firstsocial media centre focused on health care,built on the Mayo Clinic's leadership amonghealth providers in adopting social mediatools. This Centre was set up to providetraining in the use of social media tools likeTwitter, Facebook and YouTube, workshops,consulting services and holding conferences onhow hospitals can better employ social mediato achieve business goals, connect withpatients and spread their message. As one would expect at such a meeting we
were encouraged to Tweet, post blogs on
Facebook and take pictures throughout thewhole meeting. Multiple screens werepositioned around the room to optimiseelectronic interaction. Two screens showed livefeeds from Twitter and we were able to seeour Tweet comments instantly. We could askquestions through the tweets which anymember at the residency answeredimmediately. It is the first time that I havebeen in a meeting where they encouraged usto use our devices and fire away on any socialmedia platform in such an integrated way. Ithad a huge impact on the style of meetingmaking the speakers and participants almostlike one unit taking topics forward. The social media center at Mayo employs
nine staff and has an annual budget of around$800,000. The theme of the meeting waseffectively marketing your business with socialmedia on a tight budget. We discussed tacticsand strategies for creating a social mediapresence for our health-related business that isless complicated, simple to implement, anddoesn’t break the bank. Tony Hart, Marketing Specialist at Mayo
12 | Current Topics
ACB News | Issue 643 | November 2016
Best Practice in HealthcareSocial Media Raj Garcha, SWBH NHS Trust
Entrance to the Mayo Clinic with the Mayo BrothersDr Will and Dr Charlie
Clinic shared with us how they ‘smartly’ usethe social media tools that we all haveavailable to us to help people throughhealthcare education. We learnt that you needthe right mindset to know that you can besuccessful in social media without a hugebudget. Lee and his team shared tactics forhelping small businesses make contentmarketing easier. We talked about Twitterchats, what they are, why they’re beneficialand how you can use them for your ownbusiness. The Social Media Health Networkteams believe that most health relatedbusinesses should have a Facebook presence.Smart and simple strategies are required toenable one to get the most out of Facebook.
Things to Consider for a Social MediaStrategy
� Social media tools should be considered asopportunities for us to communicatebetter.
� If you are already doing a printed monthlynewsletter, redirect the content in the formof blog posts or simple videos done with asmartphone or flip cam.
� Create a YouTube channel to host yourvideos. These don’t have to be super highquality and if you’re using a simple flip camor your smartphone, the low cost to entrymeans you don’t need a lot of views inorder for it to be a success.
� Video can be a great way to enhance apersonal connection with your customers.How could you use video in your ownbusiness to answer frequently askedquestions and thus begin to build a rapportwith your customers?
� Enrich your content by creating written,audio and video versions of it. This doesn’thave to be a complicated process.
� Focus on creating good content. Itdemonstrates your expertise and showcases your products and services.
Increasingly Open Access
� Statistics show that 43% of senior citizenswho use the Internet are on social media.
� You can Google “Twitter Chats” and findall kinds of discussions that are scheduled
on Twitter. Use the “#” hashtag that’sassociated with the chat.
� Twitter chats can be a great way tonetwork with other people in your niche,as well. Review best practices and sharestories, successes, failures so everyone canlearn from each other.
Keys to Success
� You must be conversational, stop selling all the time and engage with people.
� Just get started with social media andspend time listening at first to see howthings work.
� Scope out where your customers arecurrently meeting online. Do some listeningand experimenting to see where someconversations are currently happening.
� Set up a Facebook page for your business.� Explore YouTube. Learn to share yourviewpoint on video. It enables connectionwith your customers and doesn’t cost a lotof money to do.
High End Video Production
The Mayo Clinic is certainly advanced and theydo pretty much everything in-house. TheCentre of Innovation is in charge of the designstyle of their websites. In-house filming
Current Topics | 13
Issue 643 | November 2016 | ACB News
Lee Aase and Raj
includes their own studios kitted out with thecorrect type of lighting and relevant videoequipment. They produce their own scriptsand they even have a script roller and they justseem to be one step ahead in all they do. As someone who has helped develop what is
currently the largest Pathology YouTubepresence in the United Kingdom (SWBHPathology TV News) I was fascinated to lookround the Mayo Clinic Video Production Unit.This supports a wide range of videoproduction requests from Mayo staff rangingfrom patient and staff education,entertainment, media interviews, newsconferences and live surgical broadcasts. TheTV studio, combined with video editing andMaster Control, is able to create and distributelive and recorded video programmingthroughout Mayo Clinic and anywhere in theworld via web or satellite uplink. The Mastercontrol room is amazing it is like somethingfrom the Universal Studios.The Master Control room has satellite links
all over America and across the world. Thisarea is manned by four members of staff.
Integration with Wider Organisation
Whilst shadowing the Director, Lee Aase, for aday I went to a meeting where they had keystaff from areas within the Mayo Clinic, for example the lead for Finance, the lead forPublic relations and an Analytics team lead.The second meeting was about recruitment ofnursing staff. This was a smaller meeting withthe Director of Social Media, the Lead forCommunications, the Head of Nursing andtheir Recruitment Lead. In this meeting theHead of Nursing expressed their concern at thehigh turnover of nursing staff. On exitinterviews they had gathered data and thereasons that kept coming up were:
� Staff felt slightly isolated especially thosethat weren’t from within the Minnesotaarea.
� They felt they weren’t aware of any social activities.
� They found it hard to look foraccommodation around the area.
So the nursing team wanted the help of thesocial media team in overcoming some of
14 | Current Topics
ACB News | Issue 643 | November 2016
Multiplex meeting with everyone firing away on their devices
these issues to aid in attracting and recruitingnew staff. Outcomes of this meeting for thecommunications team included some work increating a map of Minnesota and showing allits amenities and things that would beattractive to people coming and working atMayo Clinic. Also, providing links to networks of staff within the Mayo Clinic, a downloadable app for new recruits to helplook for accommodation, meeting new peoplewithin the area, social groups and local placesto visit. This was certainly a dynamic meetingwhere a clearly identified problem wasaddressed with practical, relatively easy totake forward solutions.
Some Clear Messages
The take home messages for me includedunderstanding that a professional approach tohealthcare using social media need not behugely expensive. However, clear strategies areimportant and also an understanding of theway to appropriately use the tools that arethere for us. We learnt about YouTubeanalytics and Twitter chats and also the waythe style of approach with social media oftenhas to be less direct than conventionalmarketing approaches.
The use of social media in healthcare hashuge potential but we need to create thespace and ensure that low cost approachesremain professional and soundly based onhigh-end marketing communication principles.Clearly the Mayo Clinic excels here and theirevangelistic approach and openness in whatthey do and how they go about it is bothrefreshing and goes some way to explaininghow this hugely respected healthcare iconkeep ahead of the rest of us! �
Current Topics | 15
Issue 643 | November 2016 | ACB News
Master control studio
Lee Aase and Directors at a Board Meeting
In 2008, Lord Carter of Coles published thesecond part of his review of Pathology Servicesin the NHS. The review concluded thatPathology should improve quality and patientsafety by consolidating services, and as part ofthis, Pathology staffing should be reformed.The Report highlighted the importance ofsuccession planning and the need to retainspecialist pathology and managerial skills.The role of a Healthcare Scientist requires a
considerable amount of training andknowledge, and also experience, a quality thatis perhaps sometimes undervalued. Gainingexperience takes time, and retaining membersof staff in the profession is vital. Anecdotallyat least, there is a loss of trained staff due to alack of suitable positions, particularly part-time or flexible jobs that allow a balancebetween work and family commitments. This is a significant cost to departments, bothin terms of the money and time invested intraining staff who then leave, and the loss oftheir accumulated experience and knowledge. The purpose of this article is to raise the
profile of flexible working, so we can discussthe issues and practicalities from all sides ofthe debate, and to provide useful information.As part of this, we intend to undertake asurvey to gather information about existingflexible job roles, and to find out people'sviews on this subject. Future articles in theseries may draw on the responses to thesurvey.
Male and Female Roles Less ClearlyDefined
Flexible working is relevant to the whole ofthe workforce. There are many reasons why amember of staff might wish to change theirhours, which can affect us at any stage of ourcareers – whether a change in circumstancese.g. having children, change in health, caringfor elderly relatives, or a desire for a betterwork-life balance. Perhaps the most common
part-time posts are those created for womenwhen they return after maternity leave, butthis situation could equally apply to men. Since April 2015, mothers and fathers canshare parental leave to look after children(www.gov.uk/shared-parental-leave-and-pay/overview). It can no longer be assumedthat the mother will always be the one toreduce her hours – a recent study by theInstitute of Public Policy Research (IPPR)reported that a third of women in workingfamilies are the main breadwinner (October2015; http://www.ippr.org/files/publications/pdf/whos-breadwinning-in-europe-oct2015.pdf?noredirect=1). In addition, thereare many diverse family arrangements in theUK, so any gender assumptions should be laidaside.
Part-Time and Career-Time
Choosing to request a reduction in hours is asignificant decision. There is an assumptionthat if you request a reduction or change inyour working hours, you are therefore givingup on your career, or at the very least puttingit on hold. But is this necessarily the case? Can you work part-time and still progress? Of course, it takes hard work and goodcommunication, but can you work part-timeand hold even the most senior posts withoutcompromising service delivery? Part-time posts are often created when an
existing employee requests a change to theirhours, either working the same number ofhours in a different way, or reducing theirhours. Are we missing an opportunity here?Perhaps part-time roles could be specificallycreated that are tailored to the requirementsof the department. These posts could helpretain or recruit motivated individuals whoare, for whatever reason, unable to work fulltime. At more senior levels, anyone who hasmanaged to achieve part or all of the FRCPathexams is a motivated individual and likely to
16 | Current Topics
ACB News | Issue 643 | November 2016
Flexible Working . . . Key to the FutureRachel Wheeler, London & Sarah Beck, Birmingham
be a valuable addition to a department, evenin a part-time role. Could a part-time post be away of recruiting someone if insufficient fundsare available for a full time post? Creating part-time posts needs careful
management to make sure that the needs ofthe service are met, but also to ensure that anynew arrangement does not put more pressureon other staff. Otherwise, part-time staff canbe perceived as a burden to the department,and the arrangements can be detrimental tostaff relations.
Balancing Act
In every department, there is a balance to bestruck between attracting and retaining goodstaff, and creating a staffing structure thatdelivers the service required by our users. This can be tricky but the dominant trait ofour profession is surely problem solving! Many departments are already moving to
shift patterns to meet the need for 24-7pathology services. In addition, there is thegovernment’s desire for a uniform seven dayNHS. These demands are driving a change inour work patterns. Flexible working may offera way of retaining more of our trained andexperienced staff when they feel unable tocontinue in a full-time post, but can this bebalanced against the need to deliver acompetitive pathology service on an evertighter budget? We would like to hear members’ views
and experiences on this topic. Please respondto the survey using the following link:https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/Y6ZXD5VAll responses are anonymous and the
survey will run until the end of the year. If you would be interested in contributing
to further articles on this topic, please email us at: [email protected] �
Current Topics | 17
Issue 643 | November 2016 | ACB News
18 | Meeting Reports
ACB News | Issue 643 | November 2016
I was fortunate enough to be able to attendthe recent Mass Spectrometry: Applications tothe Clinical Lab (MSACL) EU event in thewonderful city of Salzburg. The eventconsisted of a two day short course and a twoday conference made up of plenary lecturesand scientific sessions. There were a range ofshort course choices covering topics includingLiquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry(LCMS), proteomics, metabolomics and R statistical programming.The initial LCMS course given by Dr Judy
Stone and Grace van der Gugten provided abackground to the theory, setup andvalidation requirements for new methods andhow to troubleshoot when it all goes wrong. A step-by-step approach to identify the sourceof basic LC or MS problems is key. This series ofshort courses is designed to build on existingknowledge with a second and third courseavailable for those with more knowledge andhands on experience.
Distinguishing Adrenal Adenoma and Hyperplasia
The last talk of the conference was worthstaying for with Professor Graeme Eisenhoferpresenting on the use of steroid profiling forthe diagnosis and subtype identification ofpatients with primary aldosteronism which isbecoming a more recognised condition. Thediagnostic workup is slow as initial screeningtests, confirmatory tests and then adrenal veinsampling (AVS) is usually required prior to anysurgical treatment. Adrenal vein sampling is acomplex invasive procedure used to localisethe lesion. Due to the complex nature of thistest it can be difficult to meet demand fortesting and there are often lengthy waiting
lists. The talk presented data on measurementof steroids in patients from both peripheraland adrenal vein sampling, to investigatewhether patients with unilateral adenoma,who would benefit from surgical intervention,and those with bilateral hyperplasia, (whowould not), could be distinguished. The aim ofthe work was to identify markers in peripheralblood which could prevent those withhyperplasia requiring an AVS procedure,allowing more timely medical management oftheir hypertension.Attending this meeting was an amazing
opportunity and I met lots of enthusiastic,inspirational people from all over the world. I recommend this meeting for anyone with aninterest in mass spectrometry whatever theirlevel of current knowledge and experience. I would like to thank the industry sponsors
for the MSACL travel grant, the ACB and thePathology Department at Derriford Hospitalfor the funding they provided. For information on travel grants for future
meetings see the MSACL website. �
Steroid Profiles withAdrenal Vein SamplingAmy Frank, Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust
20 | Crossword
ACB News | Issue 643 | November 2016
Last month’s solution
Across 8 Manage condition (4)9 Tumour operation: Siemens illumination
not lit (10)10 Serious injury to the French in damaged trade
centre (6)11 French neurologist corrected – unchastened,
sat out (8)12 Foreign stimulants give net gains (8)14 Laboratory vessel counter (6)16 Deliberately holding back bad temper (4)17 Strike head scholar (5)18 Precipitate eruption (4)19 Unsanitary process inspected without end (6)21 Former sort of cherry-red train (8)23 Vehemently dismiss small potential problem
about source of polythene (8)26 Treasurer helps to counter friction, we hear (6)27 Toil busily, work out extent of solution (10)28 Engrave part of an upmarket chromolithograph (4)
Down 1 Ran quite an unorthodox place of detention (10)2 Act as understudy (not leading part) –
perhaps speed it up (8)3 Enlarge, blow up detail (6)4 Employed, so ushered her out (4)5 Not exactly choose nor back current carrier (8)6 Plan under canvas? (6)7 Warning, not one backed admitting me (4)13 Specify condition (5)15 Immunity potentially increases with time (10)17 Possible cause of illness: bad crab I ate (8)18 Instrument of best ever ruler (8)20 Your old score arranged for organ (6)22 Early development of doctor in uncertain past
times (6)24 Agent returned haul (4)25 Somehow pathetic, not that heroic (4)
ACB News CrosswordSet by Rugosa
Rugosa apologises for omitting ‘my’ from the clue forhomocystinuria (14 across) in last month’s crossword. It should have read ‘Inborn errorco-author is in my broadcast’
