Expedited SARS-CoV-2 screening of donors and recipients supports continued solid organ transplantation.

Universal screening of potential organ donors and recipients for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is now recommended prior to transplantation in the United States during the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic. Challenges have included limited testing capacity, short windows of organ viability, brief lead time for notification of potential organ recipients, and the need to test lower respiratory donor specimens to optimize sensitivity. In an early U.

Neither snow nor rain: contingency planning by a clinical reference laboratory courier service for weather related emergencies.

To optimize transportation processes, we present herein a contingency plan that coordinates interim measures used to ensure continued and timely services when climate based events might cause an interruption of the usual specimen transportation processes. As an example, we outline the implementation and effectiveness of a contingency plan for network laboratory courier automobile transportation during times of mountain pass highway closure. Data available from an approximately 3-year period from October 10, 2010 through August 29, 2013 revealed a total of 690 complete closures in the eastbound or westbound lanes of the Interstate-90 highway in the Snoqualmie Pass area in the state of Washington.

Improved reflexive testing algorithm for hepatitis C infection using signal-to-cutoff ratios of a hepatitis C virus antibody assay.

Background: Chemiluminescence immunoassay (CIA) is used to detect hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody status on the basis of signal-to-cutoff (S/Co) ratios. Positive results of antibody to HCV (anti-HCV) are followed by either recombinant immunoblot assay (RIBA) to confirm anti-HCV positivity or reverse transcription (RT)-PCR to detect viremia. We hypothesized that by analyzing S/Co ratios, we could determine a strategy to reduce unnecessary supplementary testing in our population.

To what extent are free testosterone (FT) values reproducible between the two Washingtons, and can calculated FT be used in lieu of expensive direct measurements?

Free testosterone (FT) measurement by equilibrium dialysis and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy (LCMS/MS) is the "gold standard." We hypothesized that calculated FT values could substitute for measured values; compared FT results reported by Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC), Washington, DC, with results reported by the Seattle Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Seattle, WA, for 3 patient groups; and evaluated the calculated FT values by gold-standard measurements. Groups 1 and 2 included samples from 54 patients evaluated in Seattle and 94 evaluated at a primary care clinic in Alaska whose samples were analyzed in Seattle, respectively, whose care resulted in ordering an FT measurement.

Relationship of liver enzymes to insulin sensitivity and intra-abdominal fat.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between plasma liver enzyme concentrations, insulin sensitivity, and intra-abdominal fat (IAF) distribution.

Research Design And Methods: Plasma gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT) levels, insulin sensitivity (insulin sensitivity index [S(I)]), IAF area, and subcutaneous fat (SCF) area were measured in 177 nondiabetic subjects (75 men and 102 women, aged 31-75 years) with no history of liver disease. On the basis of BMI (< or > or = 27.