Assembly and evaluation of an inventory of guidelines that are available to support clinical hematology laboratory practice

Abstract

Summary Introduction Practice guidelines provide helpful support for clinical laboratories. Our goal was to assemble an inventory of publically listed guidelines on hematology laboratory topics, to create a resource for laboratories and for assessing gaps in practice‐focused guidelines. Methods PubMed and website searches were conducted to assemble an inventory of hematology laboratory‐focused guidelines. Exclusions included annual, technical, or collaborative study reports, clinically focused guidelines, position papers, nomenclature, and calibration documents. Results Sixty‐eight guidelines were identified on hematology laboratory practice topics from 12 organizations, some as joint guidelines. The median year of publication was 2010 and 15% were >10 years old. Coagulation topics had the largest numbers of guidelines, whereas some areas of practice had few guidelines. A minority of guidelines showed evidence of periodic updates, as some organizations did not remove or identify outdated guidelines. Conclusions This inventory of current practice guidelines will encourage awareness and uptake of guideline recommendations by the worldwide hematology laboratory community, with the International Society for Laboratory Hematology facilitating ongoing updates. There is a need to encourage best guideline development practices, to ensure that hematology laboratory community has current, high‐quality, and evidence‐based practice guidelines that cover the full scope of hematology laboratory practice.

Update on diagnostic testing for platelet function disorders: What is practical and useful?

“…In the past decade, a number of guidance documents on laboratory testing for PFD have been published . The most recent guidance, from the SSC of the ISTH, recommends many tests for the diagnosis of inherited PFD (IPFD), including assays validated for diagnostic purposes and assays predominantly used for research investigations of smaller numbers of subjects (see below) .…”

“…7 In the past decade, a number of guidance documents on laboratory testing for PFD have been published. 7,10,12,13,15,17 The most recent guidance, from the SSC of the ISTH, recommends many tests for the diagnosis of inherited PFD (IPFD), including assays validated for diagnostic purposes and assays predominantly used for research investigations of smaller numbers of subjects (see below). 7 While the proposed, comprehensive algorithm in the recent ISTH document requires very little blood, 7 the costs to set up, validate, and perform all of the recommended tests for clinical diagnostic purposes are substantial.…”

Update from the President on the International Society for Laboratory Hematology, including initiatives to promote education and best practices

“…This workshop recognizes that our field needs leaders and mentors to enable the development of high quality, evidence‐based guidelines. The first ideas for such a workshop date back to when we assembled an inventory of current guidelines relevant to laboratory hematology and gathered the opinions of ISLH members on guidelines and guideline development . Ms. Karen Moffat (an author on these initiatives) has kept the guideline inventory current, through posting updates on the ISLH website that attracted >2400 visitors in 2016 alone.…”

“…The first ideas for such a workshop date back to when we assembled an inventory of current guidelines relevant to laboratory hematology and gathered the opinions of ISLH members on guidelines and guideline development . Ms. Karen Moffat (an author on these initiatives) has kept the guideline inventory current, through posting updates on the ISLH website that attracted >2400 visitors in 2016 alone. As ISLH members recognize and value the best practices in guideline development (Hayward et al …”

New perspectives: the President's update on the International Society for Laboratory Hematology

“…In 2015, ISLH published its third, Educational Issue of IJLH, containing State‐of‐the‐Art reviews by ISLH speakers, as a benefit to members, meeting attendees, and the global laboratory hematology community. The publications included an ISLH project that created an inventory of current hematology laboratory practice guidelines . The Society will be using the ISLH website to post regular updates to this guideline inventory as part of its efforts to promote best practices.…”