Microbiology Laboratory

All the tests within the Central Laboratory departments are performed with latest technology analyzers.

The Central Laboratories offer a great variety of laboratory tests ( in blood, urine, stool and other biological material), and contribute in:

Disease diagnosis
Treatment follow-up
Detecting pathological deviations before they manifest themselves

Central Laboratories feature state-of-the-art equipment and an information technology system that allows continuous control of sample processing and examination execution.

Central Laboratories feature the following departments

Haematology
Blood bank
Biochemistry
Bacteriology
Immunology – Hormones
Urine Chemistry- Parasitology
Special laboratory tests

Examinations
Equipment

Each year, the Central Laboratories carry out more then 590,000 tests for over 83,000 patients. Apart from conventional tests, the departments also process the following tests:

Enzymes and isozymes
Complete biochemical analysis
Hemoglobinopathy evaluation
Paraproteinemia testing
Detection of parasites in blood, skin or stool
Trace element evaluation
Therapeutic drug levels
Isolation and identification of pathogens that require special culture conditions
Phenotypic testing for tolerance of multidrug resistant bacteria (KPC, ESBL, MRSA, VRE)
Detection of dermatophytes in lesions of the skin, scalp and nails
Rapid detection of pathogens in the respiratory, gastrointestinal and central nervous system, and in blood
Detection of antibodies among parasites, fungi and viruses using highly specialized and sensitive methods
Detection of antibodies in autoimmune diseases
Prenatal screening
Fast detection of antigens of viral agents and toxins
Antiplatelet therapy action testing
Platelet function test
Novel anticoagulant (NOAC) action testing
Complete hemorrhagic and thrombophyllic diathesis testing

All the tests within the Central Laboratory departments are performed with latest technology analyzers. The VITEK^® MS MALDI TOF system was installed in the Central Laboratories in January 2015. This technology allows fast microbial identification from clinical samples and provides valuable information rapidly, so as to select the best antibiotic treatment. It also assists in proceeding with the most suitable actions when managing epidemics and limiting the spread of infections. The system may analyze up to 192 samples simultaneously, while it has been designed for optimized workflow in the clinical microbiology lab and has been approved by FDA and CE/IVD as a diagnostic tool. The FilmArray system for fast detection of pathogens in the respiratory, gastrointestinal and central nervous system, as well as in blood cultures was put into action in November 2015. This system diagnoses the pathogen responsible for the infection within an hour (60 minutes) of sample collection. The system has been approved by the FDA and CE/IVD for diagnostic use. It is applied on nasal samples to test for respiratory infections (including testing for the H1N1 virus), on diarrhoeic fecal samples for gastrointestinal infections and on CSF for central nervous system infections. It is also used to identify pathogens from positive blood cultures.

Advisory Services
Specifically the Lab:

Performs the tests that are selected by each patient’s clinical/attending physician.
Provides information on the need to perform certain tests that are necessary for the treatment process.
Offers additional, interpretive notes on the test results.
Ensures that a test requested by a clinical physician is necessary and useful.
Gives instructions on patient and sample preparation, as well as the limitations of the requested test.
Proposes the materials and tests that would lead to useful results for diagnosis and treatment purposes.
Informs the clinical/attending physician of any deviation from the acceptable limits, which may affect the analysis of the sample.
Provides additional information on the usefulness and the clinical conclusions arising from the test results.
Proposes extra tests for the same sample, but using different methodologies, so that the result is documented effectively.

Current investigational interests: