Clinical Laboratory

Introduction
The Clinical Laboratory Division has 17 technicians and 6 physicians, and consists of clinical pathology laboratories, a physiological laboratory, including an ultrasonography section, and anatomical pathology laboratories. There are five clinical pathology laboratories; biochemistry, immunology, hematology, urinalysis, and bacteriology and blood banking. The physiological laboratory consists of four sections; ultrasonography, electrocardiography, electroencephalography and respiratory function testing. Two physicians and two technicians belong to this laboratory. All these laboratories report the exact data of examinations daily and rapidly.
Four technicians and three consultant pathologists are managing the surgical pathology and cytology section. All data of this section are filed by office computer, and pathological diagnoses can be readily accessed at any time.

Routine Activities
The most important role of the clinical pathology laboratories is the rapid and highly reliable reporting of results. They therefore employ a bar code system for identification of specimens and a belt conveyor automatic analyzing system. During monthly meetings the quality control data are discussed by the chief technicians of every laboratory and by physicians. Cost-beneficial problems are also discussed in this meeting.
The bacteriology laboratory has two attending technicians and plays an important role in the control of hospital infection. They report not only routine data, but also monthly, quarterly and yearly statistical data of hospital infections.
The roles of the blood banking section are the confirmation of blood typing, screening of irregular antibodies and supplying of blood according to demand. GVHD infection is a major side effect of blood infusion, so, all blood we supply is irradiated.
In the physiology laboratory ultrasonography is extensively used because it is an important examination for screening malignancies. Ultrasonographic cardiography is being tested as an important preoperative examination for patients with cardiac disorders or as an indispensable examination for assessing cardiac toxicity due to chemotherapy.
Anatomical pathology laboratories are pressed by routine work such as histopathological diagnoses of frozen sections for intraoperative consultation, routine biopsy samples, surgical and autopsy materials, as well as cytopathologic diagnosis of the materials from various clinics. To examine specimens in detail, immunohistochemical approaches and/or genetic analyses are frequentlly employed.

New Developments
In 1997 a power Doppler ultrasonography system was introduced. Exact diagnosis of hepatic malignancies is expected by use of this system.

Statistics
Number of Laboratory Tests Examined in 1993-1997
Section19931994199519961997
Urinalysis105,531110,03798,640117,440132,396
Hematology215,486245,640259,388283,725337,205
Biochemistry562,796657,960709,597747,924892,794
Serology48,42853,14163,91879,58390,582
Bacteriology13,56215,48116,93917,62021,411
Surgical Pathology5,2026,9176,6327,2938,439
Cytology5,1267,2146,3046,6256,879
Blood Banking12,07112,05714,94920,47935,003
Physiology15,94417,20720,91922,41223,131
Total984,1461,125,6541,197,2861,303,1011,547,840

Number of Examinations in Anatomical Pathology in 1993-1997
Examinations19931994199519961997
Biopsy4,0484,8155,2625,8906,713
Cytology5,1206,5066,2996,6257,050
Autopsy1,1341,3811,3671,4031,467
Frozen section215290348378435

(M.Yoshino)

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