Laboratory Services

Transfusion Medicine is committed to providing a high standard of service to patients and users of the department. A key role of Transfusion Medicine is to provide accurate results of ordered tests for safe and timely transfusion of blood and blood products for patients of the community and the region. This is achieved by working with members of other health care teams and health care providers within Quinte Health and beyond. Transfusion Medicine works consistently with Canadian Blood Services to ensure an adequate and appropriate inventory of the various blood products and components for patient needs.

Transfusion Medicine:

• Pre-transfusion testing to provide serologically compatible blood products to patients
• Technical/medical expertise and storage facilities
• Committed to ensuring appropriate utilization of blood products
• Assists in training of medical laboratory technology students

The clinical chemistry department of any laboratory performs analytical testing on patient specimens. Such specimens may present in the form of serum, plasma, whole blood, cerebrospinal fluid, urine, and a host of body fluids.

Common tests performed in the Chemistry department include electrolytes (e.g. sodium or potassium), cardiac markers to rule out a heart attack, liver function tests, kidney function tests, drug screening (both prescription and drugs of abuse), and others.

Any methodology or analytical system utilized by a laboratory is subject to strict standardization and ongoing assessment using quality control sampling and external proficiency testing. Quality control material is designed to mimic the patient specimen and is tested daily at levels reflecting clinically normal, abnormal low, and abnormal high values. This will allow accurate reporting of patient results.

The word “Haema” means blood and “ology” means science, hence haematology means the study of blood cells in the peripheral blood. Technology is used to study different types of cells in a Complete Blood Count (CBC). The CBC allows the physician to diagnose and monitor diseases.

Haematology at Quinte Health utilizes an automated cell counter. This instrument identifies patient specimens that are normal as well as abnormal.

The Haematology department also performs cell counts on other body fluid specimens such as spinal fluid, lung, and knees.

Coagulation testing (a sub-specialty in Haematology), studies the “factors” in the patient’s plasma responsible for the clotting of blood. The physician is interested in these results when monitoring anticoagulant therapy such as Coumadin or Heparin to decide which dose to prescribe.

The Microbiology laboratory studies microorganisms that can cause disease. Testing is performed on a large variety of specimens including urines, blood, throat swabs, feces, wound swabs and sterile body fluids. Our primary focus is on bacteria, but we also handle the testing for other microorganisms that may contribute to human illness, including viruses, fungi, and intestinal parasites.

Once we identify a specific microorganism, we perform “susceptibility tests” to determine which antibiotics will be effective. This involves testing the microorganism against a wide selection and concentration of antibiotics to allow the physician to make the right choice of antibiotics for treatment.

Microbiology also performs routine screening for several “superbugs” including Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus (MRSA).

The Microbiology laboratory is in daily contact with the Infection Prevention and Control Department in the hospital. Infection Prevention and Control is notified of all microorganisms that could be of public health concern or that were acquired in the hospital so that appropriate actions may be taken to eliminate these infections and stop their spread to other areas. Pharmacy often consults with Microbiology to discuss options for treatment when a patient has allergies to some drugs or if an organism is resistant to some antibiotics.

Histology involves the study of tissue from various organs of the human body.

The Histology laboratory is responsible for the preparation of tissue for diagnosis by Pathologists. Histology receives tissue or foreign bodies that have been removed by any surgical or interventional procedure. Tonsils, gallbladders, uteri, vas deferens, moles and biopsies of breasts are examples of tissue processed in the Histology department. As soon as the tissue is removed from the body, the tissue is fixed in a special liquid (10% formalin) and sent to the Laboratory.

Histology looks at the specimen and takes sections for processing, which involves embedding some or all of the tissue in wax and cutting the tissue on a special instrument (microtome). The microtome produces thin slices of the specimen, which are transferred to slides. The slides are stained with a routine stain (to help differentiate between diseased and normal tissue). They are then delivered to the Pathologist for microscopic examination and diagnosis. Special stains may have to be performed on more complicated cases, to aid in diagnosis.

Sometimes it is necessary for the surgeon to ask for a pathologist’s opinion while the patient is under anaesthetic. At this point, tissue is sent from the Operating Room to the Histology department, quickly frozen, cut, and a slide is made within 20 minutes. It must be noted that not all testing can be performed in this manner due to the complexity of the testing methods.

The Point of Care (POC) department is responsible for managing all lab equipment used at or near the patient’s bedside for lab testing, such as glucometers. They provide training to nursing staff on how to use the lab equipment and ensure that it is functioning correctly. POC serves as a liaison between the nursing units and the lab, answering any questions they may have.

POC also reviews all lab results obtained at the bedside to ensure that the proper procedures were followed. The team oversees all four Quinte Health hospitals and manages over 90 devices with less than 1,900 operators.