Mutations in the basic core promoter region of hepatitis B virus. Relationship with precore variants and HBV genotypes in a Spanish population of HBV carriers.

Background/aims: To determine the prevalence and significance of hepatitis B virus (HBV) basic core promoter (BCP) mutations and to establish their relationship with precore (preC) mutations, HBV genotypes and HBV-DNA levels.

Methods: BCP and preC mutations and genotypes were determined by sequencing.

Results: Genomic analysis was performed in 129 (71%) of 182 patients.

Application of receiver operating characteristics curve (ROC) analysis when definitive and suspect morphologic flags appear in the new Coulter LH 750 analyzer.

Workflow efficiency is important in every laboratory. Manual assessment of white blood cell counts and differentials that have been rejected by an automated analyzer is one of the most time-consuming tasks in the routine hematology laboratory. In this study, receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis was used for the first time when anomalous distribution and suspect flag alarms appeared in hemograms carried out with the new Beckman Coulter LH 750 analyzer.

Use of the Advia 120 hematology analyzer in the differential cytologic analysis of biological fluids (cerebrospinal, peritoneal, pleural, pericardial, synovial, and others).

The centralization of our laboratories and the demand for new parameters to measure have led to an increase in the number of biological fluid samples, which are generally sent for urgent analysis. Due to this they cannot be processed by manual methods. Meeting this increased demand for assistance is a challenge for the laboratory, and the challenge has been met by the automated hematology area.

Validation of the Coulter LH 750 in a hospital reference laboratory.

Validation of the Coulter LH 750 was carried out in our central hospital laboratory, which processes 1500 hemograms per day for patients admitted into the 4 hospitals of our hospital complex and their corresponding outpatient departments. It is the reference laboratory for the provincial health care area. The analytical quality and the practical use of the instrument were studied, and we obtained within- and between-run imprecision estimates with reference controls of between 0.