

Lab Medicine Rounds
Mayo Clinic Laboratories
A Mayo Clinic podcast for laboratory professionals, physicians, and students, hosted by Justin Kreuter, M.D., assistant professor of laboratory medicine and pathology at Mayo Clinic, featuring educational topics and insightful takeaways to apply in your practice.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 2, 2020 • 25min
Update: Convalescent Plasma
Time Stamps00:00 Podcast Intro00:35 Now that the EAP is closed, how are doctors getting convalescent plasma for their patients? 08:50 What new information have we learned about convalescent plasma in recent months? 13:28 If we are in a period of shortage and there is only low titer available, is it ideal to transfer two units of convalescent plasma in that context?15:30 What remaining questions about convalescent plasma are you most curious about?18:52 How can study design enable or inhibit certain questions to be asked and answered?21:00 Are there any additional transfusion therapies on the horizon?23:50 Outro

Sep 11, 2020 • 13min
Laboratory Detection of Opioids
Time Stamps00:00 Podcast Intro00:40 Why is it important for a laboratory to detect or quantify opioids?02:00 What are the challenges you have had to navigate in the laboratory specific to opioids?04:47 Is it like a pregnancy test or is it important to quantify as well?05:19 Can you help us understand how you collaborate with other health care professionals? 07:07 In terms of new or illicit street drugs, are you having to constantly design new tests to detect these things?07:53 Can you elaborate a little about that collaboration with law enforcement?09:07 Are you also periodically going to testify in court on cases?09:35 What do you think the future of opioid testing looks like?12:25 Outro

Aug 21, 2020 • 17min
Addressing Diversity & Inclusion in Pathology
Timestamps00:00 Podcast Intro00:45 Why is it important for laboratory medicine and pathology to be deliberate about diversity and inclusion? 03:11 How do you recommend we transform the question “will they fit?” or “do I fit?” so that it invites diversity?05:33 So, it’s not so much of transforming the question but putting it ahead of the interview and thinking about what you are trying to recruit for? 06:22 What information have we recently learned about diversity and inclusion in the newer findings? 10:35 How is it easier and/or harder to move the needle on diversity and inclusion in the laboratory?13:35 In 5 years, where will Laboratory Medicine and Pathology be with respect to diversity and inclusion?16:05 Outro

Aug 7, 2020 • 20min
COVID-19 Testing Update
Time Stamps00:00 Podcast Intro00:50 Why does this landscape of COVID testing seem so dynamic? 03:47 So it sounds like we have two sort of rapid tests that are on the market now. Can we dive into that so that we can appreciate a little bit of the compare and contrast between those two rapid assays?07:17 What are these unique challenges with regards to sensitivity and specificity when it comes to these rapidly evolving tests?11:08 Highlighting the connection between laboratory medicine and the clinical practice as it applies to COVID-19 testing.12:49 What new struggles have emerged when it comes to testing for COVID?15:15 What’s a thought process that you recommend for folks to think about when people are trying to think about what should I offer in my lab, or how should I offer COVID testing? 17:25 Dr. Binnicker, if you were king for a day, what would you make happen for COVID testing?19:09 Outro Resources:Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Jul 24, 2020 • 29min
Being Deliberate when Starting Your Career in Pathology
Time Stamps00:00 Podcast Intro00:51 This is a nice time of year for the academic calendar with new trainees starting residency, and new faculty starting their jobs, and people still in their first couple of years of being an academic pathologist. Why is it important for these individuals to be deliberate about how they begin their career?04:18 When somebody is in training, there is a lot that is decided for them and things are predetermined. In residency that opens up quite a bit. Can you give us some insight into these goals you are talking about? On a smaller scale, how do you set yourself up so you can be consistent in making progress?07:55 Are you pretty deliberate about revisiting where you are with your goals? How do you check yourself?10:30 Your success as a resident and as an attending, what advice works in both roles and what advice is good for a resident versus the attending?13:53 When evaluating trainees there is a component regarding delegating work. The skill is critical to have when coming on staff either in an academic or nonacademic setting. Is there a way that you prepare trainees to develop their skills in delegating?17:05 Sometimes things take you by surprise, which is a great learning opportunity. You have really navigated the system quiet well. I’m curious, what has been easy about this process and what has really been a challenge?19:55 If you could do it all over again, what would you do differently this time?25:22 Getting feedback and developing relationship the way you can be, is that a lost opportunity?

Jul 1, 2020 • 35min
Our opportunity: Helping patients understand laboratory testing
Time Stamps00:00 Podcast Intro01:05 Why is it important to explain the laboratory to patients? How important it is to have open/honest communication with patients?07:05 With your experience in talking with children and their families is your focus on the child and the parents picks up on your efforts? Or are you addressing the child separately from their parents? 11:10 What tips would you have for pathologists as they approach certain situations (approaching the bedside, engaging with patients, answering questions regarding lab tests or biopsies, etc.)16:26 What are your tips for clinicians on explaining the laboratory to patients? 20:22 For our student listeners, what has been your most impactful lesson learned?23:17 You started to create a video to show kids and their families what is happening in the lab behind the scenes, where does their samples go, etc. How are you approaching this? 27:00 Do you envision that material will be geared towards grades K-5 and then different content for teenagers? How differentiated does the education get?

Jun 5, 2020 • 23min
Stop—Collaborate and Listen
00:00 Podcast Intro00:53 There seems to be a lot of buzz around the need for interprofessional education and interprofessional collaboration. Can you kind of take us through these concepts? How are they the same, or how are they different?02:37 What’s the why here? Why should health care institutions, us as individuals, why should we prioritize this interprofessional education or collaboration in practice?05:34 I imagine there are a lot of people listening who have meetings…for example we have medical technologists that are involved in a meeting and pathology residents, pathologists, and so you have people together. Does that mean that intercollaboration is happening, or happening well? Is there some way to understand that? 11:03 What do you think that the challenges are that get in the way of developing this skill of interprofessional collaboration?16:17 Critical reflection19:20 What has surprised you most about interprofessional collaboration?20:42 Underscoring the importance of laboratorians and clinicians having a strong collaboration during the COVID pandemic21:44 OutroResources:WHO IPE framework: https://www.who.int/hrh/resources/framework_action/en/ University of Toronto Center for IPE: https://ipe.utoronto.ca/ D’Amour, D. & Oandasan, I. (2005). Interprofessionality as the field of interprofessional practice and interprofessional education: An emerging concept. Journal of Interprofessional Care , 19 (Suppl 1): 8-20.

May 27, 2020 • 26min
The Littlest Things in Life - From Dust to Dust: Microbiology and the Medical Autopsy
Time Stamps 00:00 Podcast Intro 03:19 How did you choose forensic pathology as a career? 04:30 Where did you train and where were you prior to Mayo? 05:08 Can you discuss in general the practice of forensic pathology, and the difference between hospital and medicolegal autopsies? 06:37 How often do forensic pathology and microbiology intersect? 07:57 What are the challenges of performing microbiology studies in your practice? 08:54 What types of interesting microbiology cases have you seen so far? 13:13 You practiced in Dallas for almost 15 years. Can you tell us about the Ebola scare in 2014? Were you involved in the one fatality? 21:26 Given the information you now have learned regarding the Ebola outbreak in 2014 and the COVID outbreak now, to what level are we prepared for what comes next?Resources:https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/symptoms-causes/syc-20479963?_ga=2.125131913.207068228.1583341931-1731071377.1580216385https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-in-us.html

May 6, 2020 • 18min
Understanding COVID-Associated Coagulopathy
Ariella Marshall, an Associate Professor of Medicine specializing in hematology at Mayo Clinic, discusses the critical nature of COVID-associated coagulopathy. She explains how this condition differs from typical coagulopathies and highlights essential diagnostic markers, such as the soluble fibrin monomer test. Marshall shares insights on managing anticoagulation, emphasizing the role of prophylactic measures to prevent venous thromboembolism. Additionally, she reflects on key lessons learned from the pandemic, stressing the importance of personalized treatment strategies.

May 1, 2020 • 24min
Convalescent Plasma: Why, How, and Lessons Learned
Time Stamps 00:00 Podcast Intro 00:39 What is they ‘why’ behind starting up a convalescent plasma program? 04:00 If physicians are taking care of a patient and wanting to get this product how do they go about it? 11:23 With the Expanded Access Protocol and Emergency IND, how many products does that get for the given patient? 13:00 Where should we direct people who are interested in being a donor? 14:51 Can you give us an idea on who would be eligible to donate convalescent plasma? 17:16 What are some lessons learned from your perspective as you have navigated through COVID-19 and the dynamic situation? Resources:https://ccpp19.org https://covidplasma.org https://uscovidplasma.org