SIP 1st 3 weeks - MMIC Department
Hey peeps! Its been 3 whole weeks since the start of SIP, and time seems to pass really fast! 17 more weeks and we are done with it. School life is undoubtedly better than working life I suppose. Wearing formal daily proves to be a torture to me!
So anyway, I am currently attached to Microbiology department for the 1st 3 weeks. I have 9 departments to clear, and 3 different locations to work. The reason is because my company has 3 branches (Bukit merah, Orchard & Thomson), so I will not be stuck in one place!
This week, being my final week in Microbiology (before moving on to Cytology), has been really great. What we deal in includes urine, stool and semen. There was a practical test for me to go through which involves the entire ID process for microrganisms, and I am glad that I managed to pass.
TA DA..My hard work..you have 2 sections to dab two stool specimens in each test paper,if it turns blue (after adding the reagent), it is POSITIVE.
Principles: When stool specimens containing occult blood are applied to HEMA SCREEN test paper, the hemoglobin portion of the occult blood comes in contact with the guiaic. When the HEMA SCREEN peroxide developing solution is added, a guaiac-peroxidase like reaction occurs, and thus the results can be seen by:
BLUE-GREEN - POSITIVE (PRESENCE OF BLOOD IN STOOL)
BROWN/NO CHANGE - NEGATIVE
Thus, any trace of blue within 30 secs, signifies a positive test result. However, it must be noted that the results should be read quickily, as the colour may fade after 4 mins.
This test is easy and cheap. However, the setback is that it is not extremely accurate (could be a result due to pre-anayaltical error/human error).
ALTERNATIVE
The alternative is a procedure involoving stool specimen that is incubated and mixed in some sort of culture (cant rmb), instead of just using the pure stool specimen.
Next, a strip test paper is inserted, and allowed to incubate for 5 mins. Just like a HCG preganacy test, two lines shown = POSITIVE
one line shown = NEGATIVE
Here is the pic..for the alternative test (cant rmb the name).
Oh, and it must be noted too that all procedures have to be done in a fume hood! And of course, one must not puke and run away from the sight of stool specimens. I have dealt with VERY hard stool to VERY liquid stool specimens (diarrhea).
Alright, thats the main highlight of the microbiology work I have done. Till then, all the best for ur SIP & MP!
Lloyd Lam 0607775D
posted by THE CODEC 5 @ 12:41 AM
14 Comments:
Hi Lloyd
I hope you are not the one who run away seeing the stool specimens(jkjk).
Anw for the stool occult blood test, if the test is positive is there any further testing require to confirm the result?
Thanks,
Justina
0605950E
TG01
Hey Lloyd! :)
I have dealt with stool samples as well in my first week. And it is of a total difference of how your lab does it compared to mine.
The Stool Occult Blood test you have mentioned, what is the amount of reagent you have to add to the test paper? The test paper is HEMA SCREEN which contains peroxide is it?
Thanks!
-Yvonne Teo
Hello Lloyd
Haha sounds cool dealing with stool. So what happens after identify presence of blood in the stool? What are the steps to determine the types of gastrointestinal diseases? How to determine the occult blood loss occurs in which parts of the gastrointestinal tract? How much does the test kit cost and how does the peroxide causes the biochemical reactions?
Thanks for answering my questions!
From: Benjamin Ma
Class: TG01
0606181F
hey lloyd!
hi5!!!
haha i did stool card in my lab for this week aso=) Quite like doing it coz its one of the simplest test :P
Anw i get to deal with stool too... some is really as hard as rock den some is really liquid! haha i also saw light green shit before:P
haha actually i got no questions to ask.. just excited coz we r doing also the same stuff :)
cheers,
huimin=)
tg01
hey lloyd. i see you almost everyday man.. and congrats upon passing your driving practical test. (see, i help you publicise. hehe.)
anyways, just wanna ask.. could you explain or give examples of the gastrointestinal conditions that you mentioned in your post? how dangerous are these conditions? could the patient actually die or something?
nur azeimah
0607060A
tg02
Hey Justina!
How are you doing? Haha its been a long time since I saw you...
Anyway, in my company, we do not do any further testing - which means there is no further tests required to confirm the result. We TRUST the results from the Occult blood test immediately..haha.
That's all. Cheers!
From Great O' Lloyd
HELLO YVONNE TEO WEI TIAN!
Erm its specifically TWO drops of reagents. There is no need to ensure its exactly two drops, cos even if it exceeds by one drop, it will not affect the results.
And the test paper DO NOT contain peroxide. Its the REAGENT that contains peroxide.
Yup..that's about all!
From Great O' Lloyd
Hey benjamin, thanks for the interest in my post.
Erm, after identifying the presence of blood, its basically looking under the microscope for any presence of pathogens that is linked to gastrointestinal diseases. After which, the results are sent to the clinics for the doctors to review and check with the paitents.
The steps to determine the type of gastrointestinal disease? Erm actually, if its positive, it just tells us that there IS gastrointestinal disease (no such thing as types of gastrointestinal disease. And basically, if there is presence of blood, it signfies that most of the gastrointestial tract has released blood. There is no way to tell which part is 'leaking' blood etc.
Finally, the test is really cheap. Erm, one pack that contains about 200 (manufactured in New Jersey, U.S.A)costs less than $100-$200?
Alright, hoped I answered your questions.
From Great O' Lloyd
Hey Huimin!
Haha long time no see. MISSED ME RIGHT? Yes I know you will.
Wow its cool to do the same stuff. But you LIKE DOING IT? Please I almost puked on the 1st day when dealing with stool.
Thank god I am no longer in Microbiology now. i am dealing with dead babies and Pap smears in Cytolofy now!
Take care, from Great O' Lloyd
Oh okay! Thanks (:
Yvonne
Hey AZIEMAH, i know you are excited for me la..haha
The examples include: Colon Polyps and Cancer,
Diverticulosis & Diverticulitis,
Esophagitis & Stricture &
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD).
Well obviously, just like any other caner/dieseases, it is dangerous and will be fatal if not detected early. If detected early, the paitent will have a high chance of recovering.
TA DA...Your answers! LOL see I made effort to research for u okay..better treat me lunch tmr.
From Great O' Lloyd
A lot of social comments. ANyway, Lloyd i need you to take this seriously. You cannot comment on things such as let the doctor decides. What is the importance of performing this screening test? What other confirmatory tests can be done if the screening test is positive? Your lab may not perform the test but I want you to find out more.
To Ms Chew:
Alright Ms Chew, I will research more and ask my colleagues on Monday (when i get back to work).
But the fact is that those slides will be sent to the doctors' offices located in my company, therefore I do not have any idea how they will go through the results. Nevertheless, I shall go and research about it.
Thanks, Lloyd
To everyone:
Hi I have finally research on what you guys wanna know.
So it was monday, back to work, and I had the chance to clarify with the micro dept supervisor. Bsically, Gastrointestinal diseases can be caused by a variety of communicable diseases and infections, which gain entry by and/or affect the gastrointestinal tract.
The importance of occult blood test is to basically screen for colorectal cancer (one of the many gastrointestinal diseases).
Other confirmatory tests include immunological methods such as OC light (that is specific for detecting human RBCs)& scan endoscopy (detect RBCs in Large intestine/Small intestine).
As the doctors in my company are responsible for diagnosing the disease' state, they confirm by whether the presence of RBCs is significant or not. If it is significant, they will then do the tests that I mentioned above (eg: scan endoscopy/OC light) to confirm, before sending the results to the hospitals/clinics.
In most instances, gastrointestinal biopsies and surgical specimens represent common diseases that display common histomorphologic patterns, and are accurately evaluated and classified by adept general pathologists.
Thank you, Lloyd.
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