IFCC interim guidelines on biochemical/hematological monitoring of COVID-19 patients.

Thompson, Simon; Bohn, Mary Kathryn; Mancini, Nicasio; Loh, Tze Ping; Wang, Cheng-Bin; Grimmler, Matthias; Yuen, Kwok-Yung; Mueller, Robert; Koch, David; Sethi, Sunil; Rawlinson, William D; Clementi, Massimo; Erasmus, Rajiv; Leportier, Marc; Kwon, Gye Cheol; Menezes, María Elizabeth; Patru, Maria-Magdalena; Gramegna, Maurizio; Singh, Krishna; Najjar, Osama; Ferrari, Maurizio; Lippi, Giuseppe; Adeli, Khosrow; Horvath, Andrea

Routine biochemical and hematological tests have been reported to be useful in the stratification and prognostication of pediatric and adult patients with diagnosed coronavirus disease (COVID-19), correlating with poor outcomes such as the need for mechanical ventilation or intensive care, progression to multisystem organ failure, and/or death. While these tests are already well established in most clinical laboratories, there is still debate regarding their clinical value in the management of COVID-19, particularly in pediatrics, as well as the value of composite clinical risk scores in COVID-19 prognostication. This document by the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC) Task Force on COVID-19 provides interim guidance on: (A) clinical indications for testing, (B) recommendations for test selection and interpretation, (C) considerations in test interpretation, and (D) current limitations of biochemical/hematological monitoring of COVID-19 patients. These evidence-based recommendations will provide practical guidance to clinical laboratories worldwide, underscoring the contribution of biochemical and hematological testing to our collective pandemic response.