Rodak’s Hematology: Clinical Principles and Applications, 5e

Book Preface

The science of clinical laboratory hematology provides for the analysis of normal and pathologic peripheral blood cells, hematopoietic (blood-producing) tissue, and the cells in non-vascular body cavities such as cerebrospinal and serous fluids. Laboratory hematology also includes the analysis of the cells and coagulation proteins essential to clinical hemostasis. Hematology laboratory assay results are critical for the diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring treatment for primary and secondary hematologic disorders. Similarly, hematology results are used to establish safety in the perioperative period, monitor treatments during surgical procedures, and monitor transfusion needs in trauma patients Clinical laboratory hematology has been enhanced by profound changes as reflected in the numerous updates in the fifth edition of Rodak’s Hematology: Clinical Principles and Applications. Automation and digital data management have revolutionized the way blood specimens are transported and stored, how assays are ordered, and how results are validated, reported, and interpreted.

Molecular diagnosis has augmented and in many instances replaced long-indispensable laboratory assays. Hematologic disorders have been reclassified on the basis of phenotypic, cytogenetic, and molecular genetic analyses. Diagnoses that once depended on the analysis of cell morphology and cytochemical stains now rely on flow cytometry, cytogenetic testing, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), end-point and real-time polymerase chain reaction assays, gene sequencing, and microarrays. Traditional chemotherapeutic monitoring of leukemias and lymphomas at the cellular level has shifted to the management of biologic response modifiers and detection of minimal residual disease at the molecular level. Hemostasis has grown to encompass expanded thrombophilia testing, methods that more reliably monitor newly available antiplatelet and anticoagulant drugs, molecular analysis, and a shift from clot-based to functional and chromogenic assays.

Rodak’s Hematology: Clinical Principles and Applications systematically presents basic to advanced concepts to provide a solid foundation of normal and pathologic states upon which readers can build their skills in interpreting and correlating laboratory findings in anemias, leukocyte disorders, and hemorrhagic and thrombotic conditions. It provides key features for accurate identification of normal and pathologic cells in blood, bone marrow, and body fluids. The focus, level, and detail of hematology and hemostasis testing, along with the related clinical applications, interpretation, and testing algorithms, make this text a valuable resource for all healthcare professionals managing these disorders.