Doctor in UHS checking a microscope to examine a sample

The Department of Histopathology & Laboratory Medicine at University Hospital - Sharjah (UHS) is one of the top innovative and future-oriented laboratories in the entire GCC, Middle East, and North Africa areas. UHS is fully equipped with automated technologies. It performs the most advanced, complicated tests and screenings, with a commitment to provide effective investigations under the management and supervision of qualified staff.

University Hospital Sharjah - Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine (UHS - DPLM), is one of the top innovative and future-oriented laboratories in UAE and the entire GCC. It is fully equipped with state-of-the-art automated technologies. It performs the most advanced, complicated tests and screening, with the mandate to provide quality, cost-effective investigations under the management and supervision of highly qualified staff. (UHS - DPLM) has been operating since June 2011.

Medical Laboratory Management Team

The medical laboratory management team includes highly experienced professionals in medical fields, clinical pathology, project management, information technology, laboratory information technology (LIS), and laboratory management. The professional specialized consultants and practitioners have the facility to communicate, interact, or discuss with the lab manager and clinical pathology specialists at all times in order to improve services in different laboratory departments continuously and to commit to the principle that quality comes first.

Quality Assurance Program

The pathology lab in Sharjah provides the highest quality services (>650 tests) to its clients with an excellent and caring experience, the best Turn-Around-Time (TAT) on reports as well as a commitment and participation in the International Quality Assurance Program. Health, Safety, and environmental issues presentation are amongst strongly considered areas.

Our experienced Laboratory Pathologists, Managers, Medical Technologists, and Support Staff are trained to utilize state-of-the-art technologies efficiently, maintaining the highest standards and requirements for quality testing in accordance with the guidelines of the international accreditation bodies. To ensure correct identification and easy tracking of each specimen and to minimize clerical errors, a barcoding system has been constructed.

The pathology lab in Sharjah is committed to providing accurate results quickly and efficiently, through the latest Hospital Information Technology (TracKare) and Laboratory Information System (lab Track), we ensure dependable information that assists in the effortless client's progress. Best of all, the equipment and software used by our lab are custom-designed by Healthcare IT professionals for quick learning, ease of use, and low maintenance.

UHS Laboratory Services

The laboratory is fully operated 24 hours per 7 days offering a wide range of diagnostic tests and services through the following section and units:

Basic Laboratory Unit:

This is the main unit which includes:

● Clinical Biochemistry

● Endocrinology

● Clinical Immunology/Serology

● Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM), Drug Abuse & Toxicology

● Specific protein assessment

● Chromatography for Haemoglobinopathies & Newborn Screening

This automatic laboratory carries out a wide variety of chemical analyses, hormones, serology tests, and sorting tests including very specific tests. Among these provided services is specialized analysis to test a wide range of specimens and liquids which provide diagnosis of different metabolic diseases related to food digestion and infectious diseases.

This unit utilizes devices

SIEMENS integrated system for automatic processing of specimens (SSIC/STREAM LAB) which is one of the latest available laboratory technology systems for pathological analysis in the whole world.

This system includes the following

Two devices of RXL max DIMENSIONS, ADVIA CENTAUR, IMMUNLITE 2000 SYSTEM, which are connected with the laboratory information system (LIS) and are capable of sending information to the hospital information system (HIS) for transferring lab reports to the consultants in clinics in an easy way.

Our Laboratory Services

The following lab analysis can be done by SIEMENS INTEGRATED SYSTEM (STREAM LAB):

● Our Lab work fully 24 hours / ?days

● Our Laboratory test guide contains highly specialized tests.

● Diabetic Screening & proles.

● Renal Function Tests

● Liver Function Tests

● Cardiac Bio-Makers

● Lipid Profiles

● Electrolytes

● Bone proles,

● Minerals, Vitamins, etc.

● Thyroid Profile

● Infertility Profile (male and female)

● Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT)

● Pregnancy diagnosis and complications follow-up

● Cancer and Tumor Markers

● Drugs: Therapeutic Drug Monitoring TDM, Drug of Abuse & Toxicology

● Rheumatoid factors

● The infectious diseases Profile, CRP, RF ASO, etc.

● Specic Proteins - Apolipoprotein Al & B, Ceruloplasmin, etc.

● Autoimmune disease diagnostic tests such as Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, (ANA prole, Anti-ds DNA, Anti nucleosome, Antiribosomal Abs, Drug-induced Lupus ANA, Anti-Histome, Anti-ss DNA, Rheumatoid arthritis AntiCCP, Antiphospholipid syndrome IgG anticardiolipin, Lupus Anticoagulant, AntiB2 glycoprotein, IgM anti-Cardiolipin, Sjogren's syndrome ANA, Anti-SSA/SSB, Rheumatoid factors also will be processed by above mentioned systems.

● Accurate examination for respiratory allergy, food allergy, and food intolerance.

Hematopathology Unit

Blood transfusion and coagulation unit

This department provides a wide range of examinations including CBC, ESR, and blood film morphology in order to diagnose anemia and other benign and malignant blood disorders. This also provides measuring of all blood coagulation factors, and large numbers of blood coagulation tests. Also provides blood transfusion services after doing blood tests on patient and donor, blood grouping, and blood antibodies.

CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY UNIT

The department is provided with the latest devices and technologies for doing the basic diagnostic tests in microbiology, bacteriology, virology, parasitology, fungus in addition to fractional biology. This department uses the automatic system (MICROSCAN) to determine the effective antibiotics against microbes, bacteria, and antibiotic allergies. Another system (BACT ALERT D) WHICH has a double function of blood culture and tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis also diagnoses a lot of infectious diseases and serological tests. DAVINCCI QUATTRO: It performs all analyses using the ELISA technique in addition to food allergy tests.

Histopathology / Cytopathology Unit

This unit is specialized in the diagnosis of all tissue specimens of various benign and malignant diseases. This laboratory uses (TISSUE TEK) device to process tissue samples. TISSUE TEK - CRYOSTAT is a device used for intraoperative diagnosis. This unit also specializes in gynecological specimens and other non-gynecological samples such as fine needle aspiration, urine cytology, and body fluid.

Special Analysis Unit

Early diagnosis for neonate's diseases, Newborn screening:

We are working on early diagnosis for some genetic diseases in order to provide convenient immediate therapy to avoid physical and mental retardation before it affects a child's mental and physical development in a way that no medication can help.

Prenatal Tests:

Non-invasive prenatal tests 1st and 2nd-trimester risk diagnosis and calculations to test for genetic chromosomal abnormality such as Down Syndrome. Genetic chromosome analysis by RT_PCR.

Specimen Receiving and Blood Withdrawal Unit

The process of blood withdrawal specimen is an important factor in the pre-analysis phase, which can affect results in the analysis phase. All specimens are collected by a laboratory assistant technician qualified for blood withdrawal and specialized in collecting specimens in neonates and critical cases. Collection can be done sometimes by internal department nurses and the emergency department. All staff in this unit are trained in IV, thumb, and ankle blood withdrawal as, it is collected in external clinics, ER, and outside the hospital if it needed.

Collecting specimens includes:

● Collect specimens for urgent and routine analysis.

● Guarantee of specimen stabilization during transportation from and to the laboratory.

● Transferee specimens to the reception department in the laboratory.

● Ensure the safety of patients and blood withdrawal employees.

● Home service whenever necessary.

Contribution to Research and Development:

The hospital cooperates with universities and the Ministry of Health (MOH), for the purpose of education and training of medical and health sciences students. UHS cooperates with the Unversity of Sharjah (UOS) and health sciences college in a wide range of specialties as it is considered a base of education and research.

UHS train health workers in Sharjah and the Northern Emirates and is a highly specialized Lab and one of the best-equipped laboratory with the latest developed devices and laboratory equipment. It is a reference center for laboratory research, specialized diagnosis, and research, which is unavailable in a lot of institutions and universities in the region.

Histopathology and Laboratory Medicine