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This review describes how Twitter is currently used by laboratory professionals for education, research, and networking. This platform has a global audience. It enables users to post information publicly, easily, rapidly, and free of charge. The absence of hierarchies enables interactions that may not be feasible offline. Laboratory professionals teach thousands of people using text, images, polls, and videos. Academic discussion flourishes without paywalls. Published research is shared faster than ever before, articles are discussed in online journal clubs, and research collaborations are facilitated. Pathologists network globally and make new friends within and beyond their specialty. Pathology departments and residency programs showcase trainees and faculty and celebrate graduations. As users in one time zone go to bed, others who are just waking up begin to read and tweet, creating a 24/7/365 live global online conference. We encourage others to plug into the power of Twitter, the network that never sleeps.

Context.— Multiple articles and surveys in the literature suggest that medical students find a career in pathology undesirable and believe it is disproportionately focused primarily on the autopsy. Objective.— To measure the effect of applied interventions on medical student attitudes about the field of pathology. Design.— This prospective study involving medical students from first through fourth year was conducted as a pilot study in 2 medical schools in the United States. A 2-part anonymous survey regarding interest in pathology as a career and familiarity with the specialty using a 10-point scale was given to first- and second-year medical students before and after they listened to a 10-minute pathology career presentation. The same survey was given to third- and fourth-year medical students before and after a 4-week pathology elective. Results.— A total of 121 and 83 students responded to the survey before and after the intervention, respectively. Of the 121 students who responded to the survey before the intervention, 106 (87.6%) had not spent significant time in a pathology laboratory before the intervention. The majority of responses in interest in career, job responsibilities, and features of pathologists before and after the intervention demonstrated a statistically significant difference (P < .001). We compared survey scores of presentation versus 4-week rotation groups before and after the intervention. Students who experienced the presentation did not differ from students who experienced the rotation in the majority of questions related to interest in career, job responsibilities, and features of pathologists. Conclusions.— Our study suggests that pathology exposure strategies can have a beneficial effect on student perceptions of the field and consideration of a career in pathology. Overall, the presentation intervention on the first- and second-year students seemed to have the greatest effect.

Thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) associated with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a rare complication reported in the pediatric setting. We report a case of an adult patient with new-onset DM, DKA, and TMA who was treated successfully with therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE). The patient underwent five procedures and experienced quick recovery in her platelet count and a near-normalization of her LDH. Within 3 days, ADAMTS13 activity was reported at 40.7% (>66.8%). After

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Hyperhemolysis syndrome (HS) is a rare red blood cell (RBC) transfusion reaction that shares similarities with other hemolytic transfusion reactions. Because of this, it is important to recognize key presenting clinical and laboratory features in order to guide therapy. In this case report, a patient with a sickling hemoglobinopathy who developed HS is presented. The atypical nature of this case resides in the clinical presentation of paraplegia secondary to spinal cord infarction, increasingly complex blood group serological findings, and multiple RBC exchanges prior to the HS reaction. Once the patient was diagnosed with probable HS, approximately 4 weeks into her clinical course, RBC transfusion (including exchange transfusion) was withheld. Instead, corticosteroids and erythropoietin were initiated without complication. The patient remained stable with this treatment modality until her care was transferred to a hospital with a comprehensive sickle cell center. This case highlights the need to withhold transfusion in HS patients, barring exceptional circumstances, and the efficacy of initiating immunomodulatory and erythropoiesis stimulating therapies.

Drug-induced thrombotic microangiopathies present in similar fashion but have varied pathogenic mechanisms. Carfilzomib is an irreversible proteasome inhibitor. Since its initial approval as a single agent for the treatment of relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma in 2012, there have been increasing reports of carfilzomib-induced thrombotic microangiopathy. However, the mechanism of this disease process is not fully understood. Without treatment, there is a high likelihood of end-organ damage, especially in the kidneys, and death. In recent reports, the lifesaving role of eculizumab, a terminal complement inhibitor, in managing and further preventing end-stage renal disease has been described. In this article, we present a case of carfilzomib-induced thrombotic microangiopathy in a patient with multiple myeloma and discuss the pathogenesis of thrombotic microangiopathy in this setting.