Haematology Methodologies Quiz

Methodologies in Haematology: Stains, Microscopy, and Quality Management

• Romanowski stain is commonly used in haematology for most work, providing a red and blue stain to identify targets for further stains.
• Kleihaur-Betke stain is used to calculate the relative size of a transplacental haemorrhage, assessing the survival rate of the haemorrhage.
• Perls Prussian Blue stain is an iron stain used to assess iron stores in bone marrow and ferritin levels in patients.
• Field stain is an acidified version of the Romanowski stain and is used to denature the cytoplasm of the cell slightly, often used to identify malaria.
• Giemsa stain is used to identify parasitic worms and high eosinophil concentration, and can determine the type of worm through counting dots.
• Conventional Epi-Fluorescence Microscopy is used for confirmatory tests, such as diagnosing chronic myeloid leukaemia.
• Electron microscopy is used for treatment-related identification and to show fine morphological operations in leukaemia cells more clearly.
• Confocal microscopy is used to visualize slides in 3D, showing how platelets work based on anatomy.
• Haemocytometer is used to measure WBC and RBC counts, but can be fiddly and inaccurate.
• Coulter Principle is a highly accurate method for counting and sizing RBCs based on the electrical charge across a gate.
• Flow Cytometry is used to measure disease and monitor patients, such as HIV patients, to ensure medications are working and they are not becoming immunocompromised.
• Quality management and control are critical in haematology to maintain consistent standards and prevent errors that could lead to misdiagnosis and mistreatment. ISO 15189 is a standard used for quality management in haematology labs.