Basics of haematological diagnostics

Hematology is a highly specialized area of internal medicine with many overlaps with other areas of medicine. Hematology has undergone rapid development in recent years. In particular, knowledge about the pathogenesis of the disease has increased, which in many cases has led to radical changes in treatment and a significant improvement in the prognosis of patients. Although knowledge of cytogenetic changes, mutations, and fusion genes has improved diagnosis and monitoring of treatment response, the establishment of a working diagnosis in hematology still relies on traditional methods: blood count results, coagulation or morphological picture of bone marrow aspirate.

The publication emphasizes these examinations available in routine practice, thereby making it easier for students and doctors to navigate. For each disease, their occurrence, subjective complaints, physical findings and results of basic examinations, including microscopic findings, are described. The publication differs from other monographs by including copies of typical results of blood counts, coagulation, biochemical and, in some cases, special examinations. For the third edition, chapters on flow cytometry methods, classical cytogenetics, and molecular biology were added, which describe the basic principles of examination, indications, interpretation, and limitations of individual methods. In addition, two chapters dedicated to transfusion diagnosis of hemolytic anemias and diagnosis of post-transfusion reactions and their investigation have been added.

A new separate article is dedicated to hematological changes in COVID-19 infection. The entire text of the second edition has been revised, with the authors focusing in particular on new diagnostic methods, changes in disease classification according to the latest version of WHO recommendations, newly introduced prognostic scoring systems, and revising examples of results from practice to provide readers with the most accurate picture of possible laboratory manifestations of individual diseases.

The publication will be appreciated as a manual not only by medical students, hematologists or internists, but also by other experts and especially general practitioners during their studies or in everyday practice.