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This is a case study of a 28 year old morbidly obese pregnant female with severe pre-eclampsia. She delivered at 32 weeks gestation by emergency cesarean section, and was discharged at three days post-surgery. The patient developed sepsis secondary to necrotizing fasciitis. She had been released from the hospital without her final complete blood count (CBC) having been reviewed by the attending physician, although it had been available for approximately 24 hours prior to her departure. The final CBC contained persuasive data suggesting that an adverse outcome could be highly probable. Discussion as to how this ultimately lethal post-analytic error might have been avoided, and perhaps prevented in the future is undertaken. ABBREVIATIONS:CBC - Complete Blood Count, C-section- Cesarean section, HELLP- Hemolysis Elevated Liver enzymes and Low Platelet count, NICU- Newborn Intensive Care Unit, NRBC nucleated red blood cells, Ob/Gyn - Obstetrician/Gynecologist,, TJC - The Joint Commission, WBC - White Blood Cells

Initial progress has been made toward the development of an experimental vaccine or immunostimulant for Pneumocystis carinii. Antigen derived from cell culture propagated P. carinii proved to be a potent immunogen in the rabbit and antibody thus produced demonstrated identity with intact murine and human lung-derived P. carinii organisms. Reactivity of the antibody with P. carinii soluble antigen in the blood of rats and human subjects with P. carinii pneumonitis (PCP) was demonstrated by the Ouchterlony technique, by counterimmunoelectrophoresis (CIE) and by latex particle agglutination (LPA). Murine-derived P. carinii antigen was utilized in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for anti-P. carinii IgG and IgM produced in immunized rabbits and for human IgG antibody against P. carinii. Preliminary biochemical analysis of whole and solubilized cysts has been carried out, as well as slab gel electrophoresis and immunoblot profiling of solubilized organisms and naturally-occurring P. carinii antigen(s) in the blood of humans and rats with PCP. These studies represent an initial step toward the development of a vaccine or immunostimulant against PCP.