Finding the Answer

Finding the Answer

An HIV positive male entered the ER with a fever, cough, and weight loss.  The doctor suspected he had a rare infection and admitted him into the hospital right away.

The patient was sent for a procedure to sample different areas of the lungs, and the specimens were sent to the cytology laboratory for testing.

John, a cytotechnologist, screened the slides and did not find any abnormal cells.  However, he noticed the background on the slide had foamy-looking groups. John suspected it might be fungus.  He talked to the pathologist about performing further work-up on the case.  Specialized stains were performed to identify the fungus.  Indeed, John was right.  The patient had a fungus called pneumocystis jiroveci.

The pathologist called the doctor right away and medicine was started for the patient. 

Thanks to John’s careful screening and looking at the background clues on the slide, the patient was able to get the medicine he needed much faster.

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