Anthony D C, Crain B J
Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School, Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Arch Pathol Lab Med. 1996 Jan;120(1):26-34.
Nerve biopsies require special handling procedures that may not be familiar to many surgical pathologists. Most pathology laboratories handle fewer than 10 nerve biopsies per year, often referring them to specialized laboratories for evaluation. However, initial handling procedures may affect the ability of the reference laboratory to evaluate the specimen, and the remote location may impede communications and increase the time required for diagnostic evaluation. In a recent needs assessment questionnaire conducted by the College of American Pathologists, a need for understanding the handling of peripheral nerve biopsies was identified. Reference laboratories reported that clinical history and electrophysiologic data are very helpful, both in planning the handling of the biopsy and in interpreting the findings. Understanding the clinical differential diagnosis and the relationships between the differential diagnosis and the use of specialized studies often helps in the initial handling of peripheral nerve biopsies, whether evaluated locally or referred to a specialized laboratory. In this paper, we offer some general guidelines for handling nerve biopsies, including the rationale for the studies commonly used to evaluate them. With this background, decisions may be made about handling specimens that are specific for the clinical situation and allow for the highest diagnostic yield and fastest turnaround times.
神经活检需要特殊的处理程序，而许多外科病理学家可能并不熟悉这些程序。大多数病理实验室每年处理的神经活检标本少于10例，通常会将其送到专业实验室进行评估。然而，最初的处理程序可能会影响参考实验室对标本进行评估的能力，而且距离较远可能会妨碍沟通，并增加诊断评估所需的时间。在美国病理学家学会最近进行的一项需求评估问卷中，确定了对了解周围神经活检处理方法的需求。参考实验室报告称，临床病史和电生理数据在规划活检处理和解释检查结果方面都非常有帮助。了解临床鉴别诊断以及鉴别诊断与使用专业检查之间的关系，通常有助于周围神经活检的初始处理，无论该活检是在本地评估还是送到专业实验室评估。在本文中，我们提供了一些处理神经活检的一般指南，包括常用于评估神经活检的检查的基本原理。有了这些背景知识，就可以针对具体临床情况做出关于标本处理的决定，从而实现最高的诊断率和最快的周转时间。
