Mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) is a relatively new diagnosis for a constellation of symptoms with sometimes devastating results for patients. A 40-year old woman with MCAS underwent arthroscopic repair of her right shoulder, with successful anesthetic management. This case report discusses the basic immunologic physiology surrounding this syndrome, myriad medications often used by this patient population, and the anesthetic management of this patient. With additional knowledge of this disorder, exposure to its clinical presentation in the perioperative setting, and anesthetic considerations specific to MCAS, the Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist will be better equipped to effectively manage the complex requirements of this patient population.

The objective of this manuscript is to present an approach for evaluating specimen stability for flow cytometric methods used during drug development. While this approach specifically addresses stability assessment for assays to be used in clinical trials with centralized testing facilities, the concepts can be applied to any stability assessment for flow cytometric methods. The proposed approach is implemented during assay development and optimization, and includes suggestions for designing a stability assessment plan, data evaluation and acceptance criteria. Given that no single solution will be applicable in all scenarios, this manuscript offers the reader a roadmap for stability assessment and is intended to guide the investigator during both the method development phase and in the experimental design of the validation plan.