Clinical outcome estimates based on treatment target limits of laboratory tests: proposal for a plot visualizing effects and differences of medical target setting exemplified by glycemic control in diabetes

A history of HbA1c through Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine

HbA(1c) was discovered in the late 1960s and its use as marker of glycemic control has gradually increased over the course of the last four decades. Recognized as the gold standard of diabetic survey, this parameter was successfully implemented in clinical practice in the 1970s and 1980s and internationally standardized in the 1990s and 2000s. The use of standardized and well-controlled methods, with well-defined performance criteria, has recently opened new directions for HbA(1c) use in patient care, e.g., for diabetes diagnosis. Many reports devoted to HbA1c have been published in Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (CCLM) journal. This review reminds the major steps of HbA(1c) history, with a special emphasis on the contribution of CCLM in this field.

Collective opinion paper on findings of the 2010 convocation of experts on laboratory quality

As a part of a series of yearly meeting, in May 2010 over 40 medical laboratory opinion leaders, pathologists, clinical biochemists and physicians from Europe, Israel and South Africa gathered together in Bardolino, Italy to discuss issues and current challenges for laboratory medicine, including a) the use of biological variation 10 years after the Stockholm Conference; b) achieving quality in point-of-care testing; c) assessing risk and controlling sources of error in the laboratory; d) determining the appropriate frequency of quality control; and f) putting laboratory medicine at the core of patient care. The intended goal of the convocation was to give laboratory professionals from different countries and backgrounds the opportunity to share ideas, concerns and experiences in previously mentioned areas of interest. This paper provide a synopsis of the reports from each working group.