NSH COVID-19:  Novel Coronavirus Resources for Histology Labs 

As the leading provider in histotechnology education, The National Society for Histotechnology has the following resources for the greater histology community, including additional resources exclusive to our members. Please check back for updates as we will continue to add resources as available and appropriate.

• Letter from NSH President, Diane Sterchi, MS, HT(ASCP), HTL(ASCP) 
• Coronavirus disinfection in histopathology, published in the Journal of Histotechnology [open access]
• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Coronavirus
• Latest research from NIH
• Elsevier Novel Coronavirus Information Center
• Wiley, Journal of Medical Virology
• PLOS Collections on Covid-19 pandemic (2019-2020)
• The Lancet COV-19 Resource Centre
• New England Journal of Medicine, Click on COVID-19
• Coronavirus on surfaces- NIH
• SARS-CoV-2- The Pathologist
• Journal of Hospital Infection- Disinfecting Surfaces
• Disinfecting Imaging Equipment During Covid-19
• Postmortem Specimens
• Updated Coronavirus resources from Nature
• COVID-19 Autopsies, Oklahoma, USA

• Coronavirus Tests Science’s Need for Speed Limits

• NIH study validates decontamination methods for re-use of N95 respirators
• COVID Detection in Formalin Fixed Paraffin Embedded Tissue
• Frontline Workers in the Backrooms of COVID-19: Caring for the Living and the Dead
• A review on histotechnology practices in COVID-19 pathology investigations
• SARS-CoV-2 Infection–Associated Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis: An Autopsy Series With Clinical and Laboratory Correlation.
• Laboratory Biomarkers in the Management of Patients with COVID-19. 
• Coronavirus Disease 2019 Autopsies and Personal Protective Equipment
• Embedding Brain Tissue for Routine Histopathology: A Processing Step Worthy of Consideration in the Digital Pathology Era
• The autopsy at the time of SARS-CoV-2: Protocol and lessons
• A review of the main histopathological findings in coronavirus disease 2019
• The COVID-19 pandemic: Implications for the cytology laboratory
• Risk of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Transmission During Autopsy
• Development of immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridisation for the detection of SARS‑CoV
  and SARS‑CoV‑2 in formalin‑fixed paraffin‑embedded specimens
• outbreak.info compiles a database of COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 resources and epidemiology data to easily discover this information from the Su, Wu and Andersen labs at Scripps Research

• Positive Postmortem Test for SARS-CoV-2 Following Embalming in Confirmed COVID-19 Autopsy

COVID Survey Results
Over the course of the pandemic, NSH conducted several iterations of a COVID survey, gauging the impact of the virus on work stability for histotechnologists. Here are the results: 

• Results from NSH's first histology COVID-19 Survey
• Results from NSH's second histology COVID-19 Survey
• Results from NSH's third histology COVID-19 Survey
• Results from NSH's fourth histology COVID-19 Survey

Universal Precautions
Many have expressed concern as to whether special precautions need to be taken when processing specimens that may have Covid. Please remember that Universal Precautions should always be used, but below are a few links with more information on the topic:

• CDC Interim Biosafety Guidelines for Handling and Processing Specimens Associated With Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
• WHO organization document:  Laboratory testing for 2019 novel coronavirus (20190-nCov) in suspected human cases
• Discussion question on The Block, handling unfixed frozen sections. 
• Safety Considerations in the Laboratory Testing of Specimens Suspected or Known to Contain the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)

The Journal of Histotechnology’s publisher, Taylor & Francis, has created a page with free access to COVID-19: Novel Coronavirus Content.  All research residing on this page is free to access. 

For NSH Members

Organizations around the world have rolled out mandatory remote work policies (where appropriate), and elective surgeries have been significantly curtailed. In our Histology Professionals group on Facebook, a member asked the question, “Anyone have any suggestions on how a histotech can work from home?” NSH recommends using this time to improve your histotechnology skills.  Many histotechnicians and histotechnologists are unable to spend time on continuing competence due to the daily volume in their respective labs coupled with the staffing shortage.  Take advantage of this time to review webinars or review research articles for new methods or topics that interest you.   

Here are some responses to the “Anyone have any suggestions on how a histotech can work from home?” 

• Research!!! Look up articles for new ways to do things for programs you work on.... use pubmed.gov 
• Reviewing and/or editing Standard work procedures for new hires, cleanup/organize maintenance charts for processors, microtomes, cryostats etc. for CAP, CE credits, yearly company compliance modules 
• Read, especially about methods that interest you 

 
We also have a Free Member Resources portal on  elearn.nsh.org.  These include webinars, podcasts, troubleshooting guides and lab management resources created by members for members.