Simultaneous imaging of cellular morphology and multiple biomarkers using an acousto-optic tunable filter-based bright field microscope.

An acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF)-based multispectral imaging microscope system allows the combination of cellular morphology and multiple biomarker stainings on a single microscope slide. We describe advances in AOTF technology that have greatly improved spectral purity, field uniformity, and image quality. A multispectral imaging bright field microscope using these advances demonstrates pathology results that have great potential for clinical use.

Intraoperative death due to thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP)-related acute myocardial failure in a patient undergoing laparoscopic splenectomy.

Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is an uncommon disorder characterized by a pentad of microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, renal dysfunction, fever, and a fluctuating neurologic syndrome. Splenectomy is performed for patients who are refractory to plasma therapy and for relapsing TTP. We describe a case of a patient who died due to intramyocardial hemorrhage after undergoing laparoscopic splenectomy for TTP resistant to treatment with plasmapheresis.

Frequency and outcome of cervical cancer prevention failures in the United States.

We measured the frequency and outcome of cervical cancer prevention failures that occurred in the Papanicolaou (Pap) and colposcopy testing phases involving 1,646,580 Pap tests in 4 American hospital systems between January 1, 1998, and December 31, 2004. We defined a screening failure as a 2-step or greater discordant Pap test result and follow-up biopsy diagnosis. A total of 5,278 failures were detected (0.

Occult perineal endometrioma diagnosed by endoanal ultrasound and treated by excision: a report of 3 cases.

Background: Isolated perineal endometrioma is a rare entity and often causes diagnostic uncertainty.

Cases: Three premenopausal women, none with a prior history of endometriosis, presented with vague perineal pain 3-6 months following obstetric delivery with episiotomy. The latency periods between the onset of symptoms and definitive diagnosis were 3 months, 18 months and 3 years despite multiple physician evaluations in the interim.

Sarcoidosis presenting as a solitary parotid mass.

We describe an unusual case of sarcoidosis in which the patient presented with a discrete solitary parotid mass and no other manifestation of the disease. The diagnosis was based on the unexpected pathologic findings during examination of a superficial parotidectomy specimen. To the best of our knowledge, no such presentation has been previously reported in the English-language literature.

Clinical impact and frequency of anatomic pathology errors in cancer diagnoses.

Background: To the authors' knowledge, the frequency and clinical impact of errors in the anatomic pathology diagnosis of cancer have been poorly characterized to date.

Methods: The authors examined errors in patients who underwent anatomic pathology tests to determine the presence or absence of cancer or precancerous lesions in four hospitals. They analyzed 1 year of retrospective errors detected through a standardized cytologic-histologic correlation process (in which patient same-site cytologic and histologic specimens were compared).

Anatomic pathology databases and patient safety.

Context: The utility of anatomic pathology discrepancies has not been rigorously studied.

Objective: To outline how databases may be used to study anatomic pathology patient safety.

Design: The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality funded the creation of a national anatomic pathology errors database to establish benchmarks for error frequency.

Thalidomide inhibits the growth and progression of hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma.

Hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (HEH) is a rare vascular tumor of the liver with an unpredictable malignant potential. Its growth can lead to hepatic failure, extrahepatic metastasis and death. Surgical resection or liver transplantation is the treatment of choice if metastasis is not identified.

Alveolar adenoma.

Alveolar adenoma of the lung is a rare benign neoplasm with proliferation of alveolar epithelium and septal mesenchyme. This unusual neoplasm presents as a solitary mass on chest roentgenograms, especially in older, asymptomatic patients. We report a case of this unusual neoplasm and describe the histologic and radiographic features of this tumor, which should be included in the differential diagnosis of a solitary pulmonary mass.