Photo courtesy of the CDC
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) and the College of American Pathologists (CAP) have opened a public comment period for a draft guideline that addresses the initial work-up of acute leukemia.
The guideline details the information required for the diagnosis of acute leukemias, as well as recommended testing and how test results and diagnosis should be correlated.
The document will be available for comment through August 31.
The guideline authors examined evidence from more than 170 articles to devise the draft guidelines. The resulting document answers the following questions:
- What clinical and laboratory information should be available during the initial diagnostic evaluation of a patient with acute leukemia?
- What specimens and sample types should be evaluated during the initial work-up of a patient with acute leukemia?
- At the time of diagnosis, what tests are required for all patients for the initial evaluation of an acute leukemia?
- What tests should be performed only on a subset of patients, including in response to results of initial tests and morphology?
- Where should testing be performed?
- How should test results and the diagnosis be correlated and reported?
“Evidence-based guidelines like these are increasingly vital to the continued improvement and continuity of patient care,” said ASH guideline co-chair James W. Vardiman, MD, of the University of Chicago in Illinois.
He and Daniel A. Arber, MD, of Stanford School of Medicine in California, (the CAP representative co-chair) are leading an interdisciplinary team of 8 physicians representing sub-specialties that include hematopathology and oncology.
“Our work on these guidelines aims at integrating the very best practices to improve outcomes for [acute leukemia] patients and their families,” Dr Arber said.
At the close of the comment period, the CAP/ASH team will review any comments and make final recommendations, which are targeted for publication in the first quarter of 2016.
