Thoughts and expectations of young professionals about the European Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (EFLM).

Objectives: Young laboratory medicine professionals (YLMPs) are the future of clinical laboratories. Although everyday practice shows significant differences among countries, especially during residency training, most of them face the same challenges. Besides promoting scientific, professional and clinical aspects of laboratory medicine in Europe, the European Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (EFLM) should take into consideration YLMPs' concerns and interests to help them achieve excellence. The aim of this survey was to assess the opinion and expectations of YLMPs about their involvement in the activities of EFLM. Methods: An online survey was distributed to YLMPs in Europe through different channels. The questionnaire consisted of 21 items grouped into five sections: demographic questions, opinion about the current status of YLMPs within EFLM, YLMPs network, suggestions and opportunities, and scientific training and exchange. Where appropriate, responses from residents and specialists were compared. Results: A total of 329 valid responses were obtained from 53 different countries. Countries with the highest number of participants were Spain, Turkey, Croatia and Romania. A significant percentage would like to know more about EFLM and their activities (86%) and wish EFLM promoted networking and scientific exchanges (95%), for instance by means of a European YLMPs network (93%). EFLMLabX project was widely unknown (75%). Conclusions: YLMPs demand better connection to share concerns about daily healthcare duties, to keep updated and to advance professionally. EFLM needs to improve their advertising through national societies to increase YLMPs' participation. In addition to international meetings and congresses, respondents have emphasized that workshops and other small group activities would significantly help promote laboratory medicine practice in Europe.

Biomaker evaluation for major adverse cardiovascular event development in patients undergoing cardiac Surgery.

Objectives: The postoperative period of cardiac surgery (CS) is associated with the development of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs). However, the evaluation of MACE after CS by means of biomarkers is poorly developed. We aimed to evaluate postoperative biomarkers that could be associated with MACE. Methods: Two Hundred and ten patients who underwent CS were enrolled during the study period. The diagnosis of MACE was defined as the presence of at least one of the following complications: acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, stroke presented during intensive care unit (ICU) stay, and 30-day mortality after CS. High-sensitive troponin T (hs-TnT), C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, interleukin-6, and immature platelet fraction (IPF) were measured on ICU admission and after 24 h. The difference between both measurements (Δ) was calculated to assess their association with MACE. Early infected patients (n=13) after CS were excluded from final analysis. Results: The most frequent surgery was single-valve surgery (n=83; 38%), followed by coronary artery bypass graft (n=72; 34%). Postoperative MACE was diagnosed in 31 (14.8%) patients. Biomarker dynamics showed elevated values at 24 h compared with those at ICU admission in patients with MACE versus no-MACE. Multivariate analysis showed that ΔIPF (OR: 1.47; 95% CI: 1.110-1.960; p=0.008) and Δhs-TnT (OR: 1.001; 95% CI: 1.0002-1.001; p=0.008) were independently associated with MACE. Conclusions: These findings suggest that postoperative ΔIPF and Δhs-TnT may be useful biomarkers for the identification of patients at risk of MACE development.

Reference interval for immature platelet fraction on Sysmex XN haematology analyser in adult population.

INTRODUCTION: The Sysmex XN-series haematology analyser has newly adopted a fluorescent channel to measure immature platelet fraction (IPF). To promote the clinical utility of this promising parameter, establishing a reliable reference interval is mandatory. According to previous studies, IPF values may be affected by the employed analyser and the ethnic background of the individual, but no differences seem to be found between individuals' genders. Therefore, this study aimed to define the reference interval for IPF in a Spanish population following Clinical and Laboratory Standard Institute (CLSI) guidelines. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 153 healthy Caucasian adults from Spain met the inclusion criteria. IPF measurement was performed by means of a Sysmex XN-2000 haematology analyser. A non-parametric percentile method was used to calculate the reference intervals in accordance with CLSI guidelines. RESULTS: The obtained reference interval for IPF on the Sysmex XN-2000 was 1.6-9.6% (90% confidence intervals (CIs) were 1.5-1.8 and 9.3-11.5, respectively). No significant gender difference in IPF reference intervals was observed (P = 0.101). CONCLUSIONS: This study provides, for the first time, a reference interval for IPF using a Sysmex XN-2000 in a Spanish population, ranging from 1.6 to 9.6%. These data are needed to evaluate platelet production in several conditions such as thrombocytopenia, inflammatory states and cardiovascular diseases, as well as for future research.