Microbiology training day
Chair: Naomi Gadsby
13:30 Histopathology in infection: Decoding tissue clues in pathogen identification - David DorwardDistinct patterns of tissue damage and inflammatory response can provide pathologists with a significant amount of information in the characterisation of infectious diseases. In this talk we will focus on infections of the lung to provide examples of key histological features, diagnostic clues and additional tests that pathologists can draw on to aid in the identification of particular pathogens. We will also consider non-infectious aetiologies that may form part of the differential diagnosis and the pitfalls and challenges they can pose.
14:15 How to choose, use and clinically interpret a diagnostic test – focus on Pneumocystis jirovecii PCR - Riina Richardson
This session summarises the process of assessing the clinical performance of a diagnostic test. As an example, the comparative diagnostic performance of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the diagnosis of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PjP) on different respiratory tract samples, in both human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and non-HIV populations is discussed. Commonly used statistical performance metrics are explained. Finally, an example is given how different diagnostic tests can be combined for more accurate diagnostic accuracy of PjP.
Naomi Gadsby has a PhD from the University of Edinburgh and completed her pre- and post-registration clinical scientist training in Medical Microbiology in NHS Lothian. She became a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists by examination in Medical Microbiology in 2017. Since 2019 she has been working as a Consultant Clinical Scientist in Medical Microbiology at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.
I am a pathologist working in Edinburgh with a particular interest in pulmonary inflammation in response to infection and malignancy. Having undertaken a PhD investigating neutrophil responses to acute lung injury at the University of Edinburgh I completed pathology training in 2020. During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic I co-lead the ICECAP post mortem study describing the pathological changes seen in fatal COVID-19. Currently, I am lead thoracic and hospital autopsy pathologist in NHS Lothian.
Dr Richardson is the Clinical Head of Service for the Mycology Reference Centre Manchester and member of the MFT Infectious Diseases team. She is an internationally recognised expert, senior researcher, educator and clinician. She has published over 180 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters in medical microbiology, mucosal immunology and infectious diseases, h-index is 51.
She has special expertise in the management of a spectrum of mycoses including chronic superficial candidiasis, candidaemia and other fungal infections in immunocompromised, as well as in antimicrobial stewardship and infection prevention. She is an author of the BASHH guideline on vulvovaginal candidiasis as well as the ECMM/ISHAM Candidiasis and Rare yeasts guidelines. She is the Lead for Infectious Diseases learning for University of Manchester Medical School, the Chair of the UK SMI Bacteriology Working Group, an ESCMID Educational Officer and lead for the eAcademy, and an Editor for Journal for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.
Pronouns: She/her
