Communications and Publications Division (CPD) of the IFCC
Editor: Tahir Pillay, MB ChB, PhD, FRCPath (Lon), FCPath (SA)
Department of Chemical Pathology, University of Pretoria, South Africa
E-mail: enews@ifcc.org

International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine

N° 9 – October 2018

In t h is issue
 In memory of Dr. Michael Metz

3

 Educational workshop on leadership and management in the PathCape 20184

 C-CLM survey results on laboratory leadership7 In memory of Prof. Ian Wootton

11 Clinical Chemistry Trainee Council: Guide to Scientific Writing (WSG)

12 Making the link: migrants, refugees and lab medicine

15 NEWS FROM REGIONAL FEDERATIONS AND MEMBER SOCIETIES News from the German Society for Clinical Chemistry
and Laboratory Medicine (DGKL)

18 News from the Confederación Unificada Bioquímica
de la Republica Argentina (CUBRA)

19 News from the Mexican Associationof Clinical Laboratory Sciences (CMCLabC)

20

 South Africa: introducing SAACB Endocrine Grand Rounds

23 IFCC's Calendar of Congresses, Conferences & Events24

In memory of Dr. Michael Metz
22 August 1955 – 2 October 2018
by Howard Morris
IFCC President
The IFCC is deeply saddened to announce that Dr. Michael Metz
passed away around midnight on 2 October 2018, at St Andrews
Hospital, Australia.
Michael was a major influence in Paediatric Laboratory Medicine
internationally through his work with the IFCC TF PLM and ICPLM.
A dual fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and of theRoyal College of Pathologists of Australasia, he was also valuable
contributor to AACB both at the SA/NT Branch, and at National
levels.
Despite his illness, Michael continued to actively contribute to the
AACB RCPAQAP Patient Comments and Sweat Testing Advisory
Committees until recently. He was always willing to share his knowledge and will be greatly missed.

Dr. Michael Metz

Dr. Michael Metz was a dual fellow of the American Academy of
Pediatrics and the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia.

A graduate of the University of Nebraska College of Medicine, Michael trained in paediatrics at the University of Minnesota and in chemical pathology in Adelaide at the
Women’s & Children’s Hospital (WCH) and the Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science.
He practised chemical pathology in Adelaide at the WCH site of SA Pathology and at Clinpath Laboratories
where he was director of clinical chemistry.
Michael was a foundation member of the AACB Paediatric Special Interest Group and Chair of the RCPA QAP
sweat testing working party. He was also a member of the advisory board of the Atherosclerosis Australasia
Familial Hypercholesterolaemia Registry and the sole consultant at the lipid clinic of the WCH.
He was a clinical senior lecturer at the University of Adelaide School of Paediatrics and Reproductive Health.
Mostly he liked looking after the kids.
As Chair of the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry Task Force on Pediatric Laboratory Medicine,Michael contributed to improving the diagnosis and management of patients from birth to adolescence.
His dedication and warm friendly nature will be greatly missed.

3

Educational workshop on leadership and management in the PathCape 2018
Hosted by the Committee on Clinical Laboratory Management
by Sedef Yenice
Chair, C-CLM
IFCC EMD, the Committee on Clinical Laboratory
Management (C-CLM) hosted an educational workshop on Leadership and Management in the 56th
International Congress of the Federation of South
African Societies of Pathology (FSASP), named PathCape 2018, which was held at the Spier ConferenceCentre in Stellenbosch, South Africa, between 16-18
August 2018.
It was a great pleasure for us, and we were profoundly honored to be invited and granted the opportunity by Prof. Rajiv Erasmus and by Prof. Tahir Pillay
to organize this educational workshop at the PathCape 2018 and in the beautiful country of a great
leader Nelson Mandela.
Sedef Yenice, Matthias Orth, and Aye Aye Khine Wamono, who are the members of C-CLM, were thespeakers at the workshop held on 16 August 2018;
and Sedef Yenice chaired this workshop. In addition,
Sedef Yenice and Matthias Orth delivered talks in the
symposium on “Accreditation, Quality, and Leadership”; and Aye Aye Khine Wamono chaired a session
on the oral presentation by Linda Macheka regarding

Aye Aye Khine Wamono“Mercury ingestion and toxicity in adult females" on
17 August 2018.
Through more than 30 years of service in the laboratory medicine, in clinical laboratory management
and with the lots of research studies, we have beenprivileged to work with and learn from superb leaders, from the young instructors who taught us how
to manage the experiments in basic and clinical laboratory research to the very smart group of profession experts and institute chief executive officers wemet during our work life.
These talented people have differed widely in theirpersonality traits and life stories. Some have beencharismatic, some very modest. Some came from apoor background, others grew up amid great wealth.
Some of them came by their leadership abilities naturally, and many others worked hard at developingthem.
But these men and women have shared three critically important skills: they have been driven by an inspiring vision of success. They have excelled at communication and exercised professional judgment.

Matthias Orth
Article continued on next page4

Rajiv Erasmus

Sedef YeniceIn order to lead our organizations effectively throughtoday’s economic turmoil, we all will benefit if wemaster those very same skills.

and roles while providing constructive and positive
feedback.

Leadership success always starts with a vision. Henry Ford dreamed of cars families could afford. Steve
Jobs dreamed of an easy-to-use computer that would
unleash creativity. Nelson Mandela dreamed of an integrated, prosperous South Africa.
A compelling vision has that power. It inspires, clarifies and focuses the work of people and preferably
entire organizations for a lengthy span of time. Before
we embark on any leadership enterprise, stop andtake a hard look at our vision of success. What is it?
Do we even have one? Often, in the rush to get things
done, to launch a new project or product, we ask people to get behind our efforts without ever really giving
them a good reason. Our vision needs not be as grandiose as Mandela’s. It probably should not be, unless
we have Mandela’s phenomenal array of talents andexperience.
It’s fine to start with something smaller, like instituting a new method or instrument technology to improve our laboratory service. But even an incrediblycompelling vision won’t do much good if it remains
only in our head. That brings us to the second key
skill: communication.
We still need to communicate effectively and thatmeans being our organization’s chief listening officer,
also embracing each other’s contributions, strengths,

A third key element of successful leadership involves
judgment. In the end, our judgment calls, which arerooted in our character, become our legacy. Without
the right values, judgment can easily be trumped
by perverse incentives that encourage poor ethicalchoices.
Sedef Yenice’s talks covered those related topics under the titles of “Organizational Culture and Managing Change”, and then on “Building an effective andsupportive supervision for Quality Improvement.”
Good strategy judgment often means a leader mustfind a new path when his/her organization is headingin the wrong direction.
How well we can do this depends on our ability to scan
the horizon and ask the right questions. But unless
we have the right people on board, we can’t execute
our strategy. We need to get the right talent, and weneed to make sure that it’s positioned appropriately
throughout our organization and this is a constantly
evolving process. The skill sets we need and the places in our organization where our team members best
fit will change as our environment and competition
shift and new opportunities arise.
Matthias Orth addressed those issues on his talks, firstregarding “Organizational Planning and Laboratory
Medicine”, and secondly “Leading and Managing theLaboratory Team.” Due to the mostly indirect patient
contact in Laboratory Medicine, some novel planning
Article continued on next page5

strategies developed for industries can also be applied
to clinical laboratories. Further, clinical laboratories
are part of the healthcare, and a new framework oflegal and ethical regulations are in place to protect
the patients and to allow adequate access to healthcare for those in need. However, this contrasts withthe law of the marketplace. Laboratory managers
need to know the advantages and the challenges
when industry strategies are used, or laboratory performance is challenged from outside by people whoare employing these strategies.
The definition of the skills required for leading andmanaging a laboratory team is also under scrutiny.
The focus of those management skills should be thebenefit of the stakeholders, which are the patients,
the people working in the laboratory and the administration/health insurance. Again, a laboratory must
be aware of the special situation of a clinical laboratory and should focus on the medical value of thelaboratory. This value is more than delivering reliable analytical services but should also include medical interpretation and the allocation of laboratory
resources according to the medical needs of thepatients being served. Medical knowledge, practicalexperiences, and management skills are most needed for laboratory managers. These properties canand must be learned and practiced and will allow
making the step from a laboratory manager to become a leader.
On the other hand, conflict in the workplace candestroy good teamwork. When we don’t manage it
effectively, real and legitimate differences between
people can quickly get out of control, which can result in an irretrievable breakdown in communication.
To resolve a conflict between our team members requires an effective and skillful approach. Aye Aye Khine Wamono delivered her talk on this important topic of “Conflict resolution.”
We saved the best talk for last from Rajiv Erasmus as
he focused on “The Centre for Creative Leadership
through Key Leadership Skills of An Outstanding Leader Nelson Mandela: Application to the Laboratory”
which was very inspiring for the audience.
The workshop was a great success. Thanks to all the
speakers for their valuable contributions.
Our presentations can be accessed through a private
link: www.pathcongress.org/presentations.

L-R: Tahir Pillay, Aye Aye Khine Wamono, Sedef Yenice, Rajiv Erasmus, Vanessa Steenkamp and Matthias Orth

6

C-CLM survey results on laboratory leadershipby Sedef Yenice, Chair
Edward Randell, Full member
IFCC Committee on Clinical Laboratory Management (C-CLM)
The importance of good leadership to the health ofan organization is evidenced by the investment manyorganizations are willing to apply to leadership development. Leadership theory describes leadershipas both an art and a science. Although accepted bymany that leadership qualities are inborn personality
traits, there is growing evidence that leadership canbe learned through a training process.
The clinical laboratory environment is one of diversity, with the scope of services ranging from relatively simple phlebotomy centers to large referencelaboratories applying cutting-edge techniques andesoteric analyses.
Leadership in the medical laboratory requires interaction with other front-line health care providers towards the management, maintenance, and development of medical laboratory services to meet needs.
Figure 1

Because the major contribution of the laboratory tohealth care is information, leadership in the laboratory also involves oversight to ensure that this isprovided in an appropriate and legible manner leveraging where possible opportunities to add value
to services.
Most importantly medical laboratory leadership requires effective interactions with individuals within
the laboratory, suppliers, and manufacturers, higher administration, and those relying on the services
provided.
In recognition of the importance of effective leadership to the success of a medical laboratory, the Committee on Clinical Laboratory Management (C-CLM)
has embarked on a project to help bridge any knowledge gaps challenging good and effective leadershipin the medical laboratory environment specifically.

Responses by contributing country region
Size of the circle is proportional to the number of respondents

Article continued on next page

7

This will take the form of a Laboratory Leadership
Training Programme, which will cover major topics
related to developing effective leadership skills andtechniques.

The most acknowledged professional designations/activities included:

It is also a goal of C-CLM to have the programme accredited in order to provide certificates to successful
participants in the programme. In addition to scoping
topics covered in most leadership training activities,
C-CLM also developed and circulated a survey among
IFCC represented national societies in order to identify gaps in knowledge that can then be addressed in
the programme.
The twenty-question survey addressed self-determined comfort level on topics covering three areas ofleadership, including: Self-Management and Leadership Style; Leading Change; and Leading and Managing the Laboratory.
Participants from at least 56 different countries participated in the survey with national societies in Canada, Jordan, Turkey, Chile, India, and Slovenia making
up almost half of all 266 participants (Figure 1).
About 43% of participants came from accredited labs
with another 26% from labs pursuing accreditation.

•

38.1 % were Clinical Laboratory Specialist;•

19.4% were Professor/Instructor;•

15.6% indicated laboratory manager, and•14.2% identified as physician laboratory director and•13.8% as non-physician laboratory director.

About half of the participants (50.5%) identified clinical chemistry/biochemistry as their laboratory areaof expertise, while 34.6% indicated general laboratory 19.4% selected hematology, 19.0% chose Quality
Assurance/Quality Control, and a further 18.3% described the point of care testing as areas of professional expertise.
The survey did not assess competency but relied on
individual self-assessment to determine perceived
knowledge gaps in items related to leadership.
The results are summarized in Table 1.
More than 50% of responses to all topics indicated self-confidence of the participant’s in the specific topic. However, in 16% to 44% of cases, participants indicated either neutral or some degree
Article continued on next page8

of disagreement with the statement, suggesting aself-identified knowledge gap.

•

LEAN/Six Sigma and value-oriented service;•

Administering Health Services;

Although results may have been different if thequestions assessed knowledge of the topic areas
were addressed more directly, such surveys give an
indication of potential interest in learning more in
an area and a recognition of the potential need forfurther education.

•

Changing workplace culture;•

Resource management; and•Mentoring.

When asked to identify other topics where there wasfelt to be a significant knowledge gap, 96 respondents
provided additional input. The top four included:•

Work relationships and effective communication
with subordinates and superiors (17.7%);•

Team management and motivation (23.96%);•

Financial management and budgeting (10.4%);
and conflict management (9.4%).

Other topics identified by four or more respondents(38.5%) included:•

Developing and monitoring quality indicators
and a quality management system (an existing
project of C-CLM);•

Self-management and emotional intelligence;
Building a business case;•Marketing and growing the laboratory;•

Safety and Risk Management;
Table 1

Responses from the survey have helped confirm therelevance of previously identified topics for the programme and have identified other concepts to becovered in the programme, or by other initiatives being developed by C-CLM.
A minority of those finding themselves in leadershiproles in medical laboratories have had formal or organized training in leadership techniques towards amore successful position.
The C-CLM with the assistance of partners hopes tofill recognized knowledge gaps through the developing laboratory leadership training programme.
Table 1 is a summary of survey responses indicating
neutrality or disagreement with survey statements.
The survey consisted of a five optioned response toeach question consisting of strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, or strongly disagree.
Responses indicate the percentage of those neutral ordisagreeing with the leadership characteristic statement as applicable to them.

Summary of survey responses indicating neutrality or disagreementwith survey statements
Responses(%)

Survey questions

Self-management and leadership style
I can identify my own learning style and describe how to best apply it to work, and whenworking in teams

16.1

I am familiar with several different ways of resolving conflict and can describe the advantagesof each in different types of conflict situation

35.2

I can confidently identify common barriers to effective time management

23.1

I can identify several strategies to address barriers to effectively manage my time at work

28.4

Article continued on next page9

Leading change
I can confidently describe the common biases that affect the ability to make sound decisions

38.5

I can confidently describe the parts of a formal project management plan

33.2

I can confidently identify common barriers to effective change management

25.8

I describe the principles for effective change management

44.3

I can confidently describe why strategic planning in Health Care is important

28.7

I can confidently describe the strategic planning process

40.2

I can confidently develop a programme evaluation plan

38.9

I can confidently describe the types and purposes of evaluation

37.3

Leading and managing the laboratory
I can confidently describe the differences between leading a laboratory versus managing alaboratory

28.3

I can confidently identify and describe my leadership style

21.0

I can confidently describe how to build an effective laboratory team in spite of the challenges
presented by generational, cultural, and lifestyle differences

25.8

I can confidently describe how to effectively manage human resources including how to
attract, hire, develop and keep talented workers in my laboratory

35.6

I can describe the differences between organizational vision, mission, goals, and objectives
and describe how they apply to me (as a laboratory leader) and to my laboratory

31.8

I can list the principles of good communication, and describe how to communicate accurately
toward achieving the desired outcomes for my laboratory

27.0

I can confidently describe the principles and tools of risk assessment and risk management for
reducing patient harm

30.9

I can confidently describe the principles and practices of ethical leadership33.5

Acknowledgment: Thanks to the full members Edward Randell and Sedef Yenice (Chair) from the C-CLM who
wrote and worked together in the preparation of this short communication.

10

In memory of Prof. Ian Wootton
5 March 1921 – 16 July 2018
by Andrew Wootton
Professor Ian Wootton, the founding Secretary of the IFCC (1952-1958),
has passed away at the age of 97 years. Ian worked closely with Professor Earl King who was the founding father of clinical biochemistry in
Britain and the first President of our Federation. These early years following the Second World War were a golden age in the developmentof the discipline of clinical biochemistry with concurrent developmentof our professional societies. Under King’s leadership the formation of
the Association of Clinical Biochemists (ACB) was undertaken in 1953,
with Ian as the first Treasurer.
Ian graduated in Medicine from Cambridge University with special
commendation and served briefly in post-war Egypt, in the Royal
Army Medical Corps. He returned to work as a research assistant with
Earl King, at Hammersmith Hospital and the Royal Postgraduate Medical School and Ian naturally took over as Chair of Chemical Pathology
on King’s death.
The humorously labelled “W” Club, consisting of Gordon Whitby in
Edinburgh, Tom Whitehead in Birmingham and Ian Wootton in London, formed the spine of the rapidly developing discipline of clinicalbiochemistry. Earl King had written various editions of the textbook Microanalysis in Medical Biochemistryfrom 1946 onwards, and Ian co-authored the third edition with him. He then singlehandedly produced thefourth and fifth versions after King’s death, before jointly producing the sixth with Heather Freeman. Translated into many languages, the book became an obligatory text in every clinical biochemistry department librarythroughout the world.
Dr. Ian Wootton
MA, MB, BChir, PhD; FRSC, FRCPath, FRCP

Ian Wootton made important early contributions in the development of “normal” ranges, collecting reference
data and applying statistical analyses. His national and international interlaboratory comparisons revealed theneed for reference laboratories and materials.
Soon, the first UK autoanalyzer was placed in the Department, at that time measuring only glucose. Ian’s advice for further suitable tests was sought and his suggestion of total protein was deemed so visionary that theTechnicon company offered him a position in the USA, which he declined.
The rapidly expanding test repertoire, together with burgeoning automation, demanded computerisation andthe Hammersmith group were leaders in developing and coding these early machines. In those days, getting
the computer to play Christmas carols for the party was considered a major achievement.
Many of the statistics programs were written personally by Ian and he was often debugging program printouts
at home in the evenings.
Article continued on next page11

Consistently a champion of professional education, Ian played a pivotal role in first establishing and then examining for the Mastership of Clinical Biochemistry (MCB), with stakeholders the Association of Clinical Biochemists, the Royal College of Pathologists, the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal Institute of Chemistry.
As a Fellow of all four bodies, he was uniquely qualified to catalyse this interaction. He served as President of
the ACB 1975-6 and he was awarded the Wellcome Prize in 1977 for his contributions to the quality of laboratory practice. Ian was awarded honorary membership of the ACB in 1988. Additionally, Ian held the role ofChief Scientist for the Department of Health and Social Security from 1972-3 although he always claimed toprefer pathology to politics.
Ian was a beekeeper, a boat builder and on his retirement in 1982 became a book binder. His lifelong interestin navigation resulted in him becoming founding Registrar for the British Sundial Society and he played a major part in mapping (and often correcting) every sundial in the British Isles.

Clinical Chemistry Trainee Council: Guide to Scientific Writing (GSW)by Nader Rifai
Founder of CCTC programme
Ann Gronowski
Co-Chair, CCTC programmeThis is the seventh in a series of articles about the Clinical Chemistry Trainee Council (CCTC), a free multi-lingual
online educational program for laboratory medicine trainees and their mentors (www.traineecouncil.org). Over12,500 registrants from 157 countries currently use this program, approximately 40% are from emerging anddeveloping countries.
The CCTC website houses a variety of educational materials and activities including Clinical Chemistry Guide
to Scientific Writing (GSW). This guideconsists of a series of 14 articles thathave been written by Dr. Thomas Annesley of the University of Michigan.
Each article in this series tackles anaspect of the scientific paper and provides the reader with guidance on how
best to present it. A list of the titles ofthese articles is presented in Table 1.
The GSW has been shown to be very
popular among students, trainees, andfaculty members and continues to be
downloaded >100,000 times per year
Figure 1. It is not unusual to see the
GSW incorporated in the curriculum of
trainees in laboratory medicine.
Article continued on next page12

Dr. Annesley regularly presents workshops
to young clinical laboratory scientists andphysicians about scientific writing at national and international meetings such as
the Nordic Congress of Clinical Chemistry, Euromed-Lab, and those of the IFCC.
These workshops are highly sought afterand have proven to be popular.

Figure 1

GSW downloaded >100,000 times per year

The GSW is currently available in six languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, and Turkish. These articles can be accessed through the CCTC or
the Journal website (www.clinchem.org).
We encourage all trainees in laboratory
medicine and their mentors to take advantage of this free resource and register togain access to these materials by going to www.traineecouncil.org.
It takes less than a minute! Enjoy reading the GSW.
Table 1

Clinical Chemistry Guide to Scientific Writing
The list of the titles of articles

Part 1. The Title Says It All
Part 2. The Abstract and the Elevator Talk: A Tale of Two Summaries
Part 3. “It was a cold and rainy night”: Set the Scene with a Good Introduction
Part 4. Who, What, When, Where, How, and Why: The Ingredients in the Recipe for a Successful
Methods Section
Part 5. Show Your Cards: The Results Section and the Poker GamePart 6. If an IRDAM Journal Is What You Choose, Then Sequential Results Are What You UsePart 7. Put Your Best Figure Forward: Line Graphs and Scattergrams
Part 8. Bars and Pies Make Better Desserts than Figures
Part 9. Bring Your Best to the Table
Part 10. The Discussion Section: Your Closing Argument
Part 11. Giving Credit: Citations and References
Part 12. How to Write a Rave Review
Part 13. Top 10 Tips for Responding to Reviewer and Editor Comments
Part 14. Passing the Paternité Test

13

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14

Making the link: migrants, refugees and lab medicine
by Bernard Gouget
Chair-IFCC Committee on Mobile Health and Bioengineeringin Laboratory Medicine (C-MHBLM)
SFBC-International Committee
General Secretary of the International Francophone Federationof Clinical Biology and Laboratory Medicine (FIFBCML)
Chair-Human Health Care Committee-COFRAC
More than ever before, people are on the move.
A migrant, according the Hellenic Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (HCDCP), is described as someone who makes a conscious, voluntary choice to leave his/her country of origin and who, voluntarily,
can return home in safety.
Refugee is defined as the person who does not have this option andis formally owed protection, including access to health services, fromthe first country of registration of asylum, where the asylum claim has
been accepted. Asylum seeker is the person whose claim for refuge isunder consideration.
Immigration is reshaping societies and it is one of the great challengesof the globalized world. People fleeing conflict and poverty in Africa
and the Middle East are still making the dangerous journey by land or by sea to Europe.
Dr. Bernard Gouget

Two years after sparking an unprecedented humanitarian and political crisis, the largest influx of refugees andmigrants into Europe since World War II, seems to be slowing down, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). 172,000 people, mostly escaping from conflict in the African and Mediterranean region, crossed the Mediterranean into Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Spain in 2017, compared to more than 363,000
in 2016. Decreasing also is the number of deaths in the Mediterranean significantly from 5,143 to 3,118.
If major policies have partially successfully stemmed the flow of migrants into Europe, this has been nothing
short of controversial. A slow-down in the European migrant crisis is undoubtedly a relief, especially for hostcountries. But numbers do not show the whole picture. Migration is still deadly for too many, and for those who
survive, it’s no better than the unbearable conditions they fled in.
Too much remains to be done to reach the ultimate goal which is to facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through the implementation of planned and well-managed
migration policies, according to one of the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 10 by United Nations, whichaims to reduce inequality.
Nicole Scholz from the European Parliamentary Research Service considers that migration itself does not countas a risk factor for health, migrants are often comparatively healthy. But the circumstances of migration are often
associated with physical, mental and social health disorders. Throughout the process of migration, several aspects
may have a negative influence on the migrants health: pre-departure traumas due to suffering from war, conflict,violence, torture, etc.; and during the journey due to the travel mode, and its duration. The most commonly reported problems are hypothermia, gynaecological and obstetric complications, gastrointestinal and respiratory
Article continued on next page15

illnesses, dermatological, cardiovascular events, metabolic problems and mental and psychosocial illness
as well as accidental injuries, small wounds, burns,
dehydration and musculoskeletal problems.
Once in host countries, the migrants are often met
with substandard or inhumane conditions, uncertainty and instability. Women and young people are vulnerable to sexual violence. They are living on the margins of society because of an inadequate reception
system and harmful border policies. This situation
combined with language and administrative barriers,
makes it extremely difficult for them to access social
services and health care, as well as the basics, such as
potable water, food and electricity.
The poor hygienic conditions increase the risk ofcommunicable diseases such as water and foodborne diseases (salmonellosis, hepatitis A, Cholera).
Crowded settings can lead to a higher risk of infections transmitted by the bite of infected arthropods(mosquitoes, sandflies, lice, ticks, fleas, etc.), suchas malaria, leishmaniasis, relapsing fever, rickettsial
diseases and typhus.
The poor living conditions in crowded refugees centres are associated with respiratory infections: influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, adenovirus. WHOis supporting provision of influenza vaccine to risk
groups, irrespective of legal status.
The risk for acquiring tuberculosis or being infected
depends on factors such as the incidence in the refugees' own respective countries. The risk of HIV importation is low but some migrants acquire HIV after
their arrival. Sub-Saharan Africans have the highest
sero-prevalence of chronic HBV.
The health of those who are suffering from chronic
diseases such cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, orcancers can increase the vulnerability because the lossof medication and of psychological strain.
Mental aid is important, many of them have endured
physical and emotional trauma and torture. Children,
pregnant women and the elderly are particularly susceptible.
There is an urgent need to address the related publichealth consequences and this, therefore, requires anadequate response from the health players and fromthe governments.
Prof. Sergio Bernardini, President SIBioC (Italy) organized on 2-4 July 2018, with the IFCC, EFLM, AFCB
and FIFBCML representatives the first conference on”Meeting the needs of Mediterranean countries” at
the Tor Vergata University-Roma. This event attracted
over 270 attendees and 85 Posters. During two days,
it was possible to highlight the value of laboratory
medicine for a greater effectiveness in the access tohealthcare for the migrants.
This conference was “the” place of scientific exchange
of knowledge, information and good practices where
progress can be made related to priority aspects of
migrant health, as well as emphasizing the positive
impact of the medical laboratory in the management
and their follow up. Initiatives from medical biologist
colleagues, who collaboratively developed locally relevant projects addressing migrant and refugee healthin Italy, Greece, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, were welcomed and encouraged.
The right of everyone to enjoy the highest attainable
standard of physical and mental health is establishedin the WHO Constitution of 1948.
Our understanding of fundamental freedoms andhuman rights, our concept of what it means to be
human; all these things know no borders, whether
these are borders of countries or continents. In thissense, we also bear responsibility for what happensin the rest of the world.
The scale of the migratory challenge requires collaborative actions between states, international organizations and cooperation between different disciplines
and health sectors. The desire to immigrate is today
so strong that the reality of migration represents
the future of our new world. It is a global challengethat require a strong response from the international
community.
That is precisely why a second edition of of this typeof conference is important to link between migrants,
refugees, laboratory medicine and healthcare needs.
It is essential to help to build healthier communities
and to tackle health inequalities.

16

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NEWS FROM REGIONAL FEDERATIONS AND MEMBER SOCIETIESNews from the German Society for Clinical Chemistry
and Laboratory Medicine (DGKL)DGKL bestows 'Ivar Trautschold Award'
for the Promotion of Young Scientists to Andreas Bietenbeck
by Michael Vogeser
DGKL Secretary
LMU, University Hospital
Institute of Laboratory Medicine
München, Germany
Andreas Bietenbeck has received the “Ivar Trautschold award for the promotion of young scientists” from theGerman Society for Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (DGKL) for his work on quality control.
As Andreas Bietenbeck pointed out in his award speech, quality control in laboratory medicine should be patient-oriented. Instead of determining laboratory artifacts, it should reduce real risk for patients.
Furthermore, quality control methods should be
able to distinguish precisely between normal andout-of-control situations. A specific method should
attribute errors to root causes to facilitate their quickcorrection. Lastly, quality control methods need tobe easily integrable into laboratory daily routine.
In Germany, internal quality control relies primarilyon the evaluation of single measurements of quality control samples. These methods can be easily
integrated into laboratory routine, as sample material is commercially readily available. However, lackof commutability can severely reduce their informative value.

L-R: Dr. med. Andreas Bietenbeck, the recipient of “Ivar
Trautschold Award for the Promotion of Young Scientists”
and Prof. Triantafyllos Chavakis, DGKL Vice President

Other methods such as “medians”, or “averages ofnormal” use patient measurements directly. They
have no commutability problems but require a large
number of measurements.

To take advantage of both approaches, results canbe transformed into Z-scores or Z-values. Z-values
can then be evaluated with Westgard-like rules orwith a new method called “Aggregated Z-values” that works similar to a mean of Z-Values. In a computer
simulation (https://github.com/acnb/rSimLab), Westgard-like rules and “Aggregated Z-Values” were able
to detect biases better than single medians or single quality control measurements. Aggregated Z-values
performed better than Westgard-like rules if a bias affected quality control measurements unevenly.
Article continued on next page18

To evaluate external quality controls, Andreas Bietenbeck retrieved glucose data from the two German
External Quality Assessment (EQA) organizations “Instand” and “Reference Institute for Bioanalytics”.
For both point-of-care testing and for measurements
performed in central laboratories, the device had thehighest influence on measurement performance. In
over 10% of the analyzed cases, measurements withthe same device but different test strip lots deviated substantially. Although device and test strip lots
have such a great influence on measurement performance, they are only poorly recorded in the analyzed
EQAs.
For historical reasons, both organizations still use simple tables that often only contain broad device groups
to encode a device. However, the ability of EQAs tocontribute to standardization, to harmonization, andto post-market surveillance is severely limited if faulty
devices cannot be correctly identified.
Therefore international standards such as the“Global Unique Device Identification Database“ bythe FDA might be a better alternative to specifically encode device and lots.
Another challenge for EQAs is the lack of commutablering trial materials. Without commutable samples,
evaluation according to reference method values is
not possible and the EQAs have to resort to so-called
device specific consensus values as target values. The
calculation of these consensus values removes biases.
Therefore, passing an EQA with consensus values
might be easier than intended because the performance specifications are aggregate both bias and imprecision. In his talk, Andreas Bietenbeck stressed theneed to develop commutable material for EQA.

News from the Confederación Unificada Bioquímica
de la Republica Argentina (CUBRA)CUBRA Executive Board elected for 2018-2020
In August 2018, on occasion of the Assembly of the Ordinary Confederal Council, the Confederación Unificada
Bioquímica de la Republica Argentina (CUBRA) renewed its Executive Board and following authorities have been
designated for the period 2018-2020:
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE CUBRA
President: Dr. María Alejandra Arias (San Luis)
Vice President: Dr. Enrique H. Ocampos (Catamarca)
Secretary: Dr. Carlos D. Navarro (Córdoba)
Deputy Secretary: Dr. Agustín J. Bolontrade (Prov. Of Buenos Aires)
Treasurer: Dr. Silvia B. Deus (Chubut)
Deputy Treasurer: Dr. Miguel F. Acuña (Corrientes)
Council Members: Dr. Lisandro Travaglino (Río Negro), Dr. Gustavo Sansone (Mendoza),
Dra. María Cecilia López (Chaco), Dr. Monica A. Repetto (Federal Capital)
Deputy Council Members: Dr. Carlos A. Di Stéfano (Santa Fe), Dra. Nora B. Pierángeli (Neuquén),
Dr. Antonio A. Casado (Prov. of Buenos Aires), Dr. Fernando D. L. Barale (Córdoba)
Auditors: Dr. Rosa E. Mansilla (Santa Cruz), Dr. Javier I. Baabdaty (San Juan), Dra. Juana B. Lorenzo (Misiones)
Deputy Auditors: Dr. Juan J. Somoza (La Pampa), Dra. Ma. De la Merced Pérez (V. Mercedes, San Luis),
Dr. Carlos A. Palacio (Formosa)19

News from the Mexican Associationof Clinical Laboratory Sciences (CMCLabC)
Symposium on Molecular Biochemistry
University of Guadalajara - Jalisco, Mexicoby Rosa Sierra Amor
WG eNews
IFCC Regional Representative
Rocio I. López-Roa
University of Guadalajara (UDG), Jalisco, Mexico

The Symposium of Molecular Biochemistry was an inter-departmental academic event, organized by the Rocio
Ivette López-Roa, PhD, Adelaida Sara Minia Zepeda-Morales, PhD and Jorge Hernández-Bello, PhD, with theapproval, support and collaboration of the Heads of the departments of Exact Sciences and Engineering (Centro Universitario de Ciencias Exactas e Ingenierias, CUCEI), and Pharmacobiology and Molecular Biology and
Genomics at the University Centre of Health Sciences (Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, CUCS) (Dr.
Ma. Refugio Torres-Vitela and Dr. José Francisco Muñoz-Valle respectively.)
The theme was science and the clinical laboratory, which can be defined in various ways and which are structurally similar to each other, already catering to different kinds of biological properties of which are occupied by Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in conjunction with physics, mathematics and nano-sciences,and which constitute fields of science with higher growth and technological development in recent years
and, in consequence, with great influence in areas such as: health services, medical devices derived frombiotechnology, pharmacy among others.
Owing to the importance of institutional interaction between the UDG and international leadership in the fieldof laboratory medicine and to promote excellence to the profession, Rosa Sierra-Amor, PhD, Regional Representative of the IFCC EB was invited to participate.
Her lecture was devoted to promoting IFCC activities and reinforcing the future of laboratory medicine.
It was of great interest for the audience to learn about the IFCC curriculum developed as part of the IFCC e-Academy project by the committee of Distance Learning, and about the work IFCC has achieved in different areas,
mostly in standardization and worldwide education in clinical chemistry and laboratory medicine.
On the other hand, it is important to mention, that the IFCC performs an important role in spreading scienceand knowledge, through its organization of congresses, conferences and meetings focused on the clinical laboratory specialists, to raise awareness and present the main original findings and best practices in this area of
Article continued on next page20

knowledge, as well as to support with scholarships to its members and collaborators for stays, attendances atconferences and other forums of research.
Based on the need to update the curricula, especially in chemical pharmaceutical biologist career Bachelor
degree and Molecular Biochemistry doctoral project, it was important to say that the UDG was interested
in future collaboration with IFCC.
The aim of this symposium was to inform the CUCEI and CUCS community, and in particular students from degrees in chemical, pharmaceutical biologist, biomedical engineering, chemistry sciences and medicine, as well in
the Molecular Biochemistry doctoral project about the future of laboratory medicine.
Since CUCEI is a major seedbed of graduates who may be candidates to be part of a doctoral program, broadcast
through an academic event like this, it represented an excellent opportunity to awaken the interest of students.
It was worth mentioning because of interest in the areas of knowledge addressed at this symposium.
Teachers, medical students and nutrition students at CUCS also attended the event, as well as teachers and students from other universities. The success of this event was very rewarding for us as organizers.

Organizers and Speakers: Jose-Francisco Muñoz-Valle, Ma. del Refugio Torres-Vitela, Rosa Sierra-Amor,
Rocio Ivete Lopez-Roa, Ma. Jezabel Vite-Casanova and A. Sara-Minia Zepeda-Morales
Article continued on next page21

In addition, Ma. Jezabel Vite-Casanova, MS, current President of the Mexican Association of Clinical Laboratory
Sciences (CMCLabC), spoke about the regulations and accreditation process in Mexico, based on national mandatory and voluntary standards.
The academic programme included several other presentations:•

Extra synaptic gabadergic receptor and excitability in the neural circuits of spinal cord,
by Paulina Osuna-Carrasco, PhD;•

Nutraceutical with anti-inflammatory effects in murine models with metabolic diseases,by Rocio Lopez-Roa, PhD, Research Professor, Department of Pharmacobiology and Head of thePharmaceutical Department, and•Molecular pathology and translational biochemistry,by Jorge Hernandez-Bello, PhD, a Young Scientist recently accepted as corresponding member of the
IFCC TF YS.

The closing remarks were given by Dr. José-Francisco Muñoz-Valle, Head of the Department of Molecular Biology
and Genomics at SCUCS, national investigator (SN III) and IFCC National Representative for Mexico (CMCLabC).
Finally, it should be mentioned that the number of attendees to the event exceeded the expectations of organizers, which opens the possibility of planning another similar one, owing to the interest shown by participantsin topics related to the clinical laboratory sciences and molecular biochemistry. There were 380 students of the
University of Guadalajara, from all campus, and careers related to the microbiology, pharmacology and biochemistry sciences.
As a result of this successful symposium, we hope to have closer interaction with IFCC, as a university and as
member of the CMCLabC, a full member society of the IFCC.

Students attending the Symposium on Molecular Biochemistry,at the main Auditorium of the University of Guadalajara, UDG, in Jalisco, Mexico

22

Website: http://www.saclinpath.co.za/

Introducing SAACB Endocrine Grand Rounds

SAVE THE DATE - 30 November 2018

Introducing SAACB Endocrine Grand Rounds
A pre-conference workshop to the International Congress of Endocrinology 2018
Presented by the South African Association for Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine (SAACB)
An interactive workshop on endocrinology exploring the interface between laboratory medicine and endocrinology and case presentations. The workshop will consist of seminars and 30 minutes case presentations in
endocrinology. A call for abstract submissions will be made shortly.
Please send expressions of interest to saacb1@gmail.com to be included in the mailing.
Date: Friday, 30 November 2018
Venue: CMSA, Milner Road, Rondebosch, Cape Town, South Africa
Time: 09h00-16h00
Tentative list of Topics
Problems with hormone determinations
Current state of affairs: State-of-the-art vs Affordable•

Limitations of current methodologies: cost vs accuracy•Standardisation•

Traceability – why is it important for the endocrinologist?

•

How are hormone assays standardized and quality assured: EQA

Limitations in endocrine testing: clinical case-based illustrations
Clinical conundrums: when laboratory results are incongruous with the clinical picture•

Antibody and Metabolite interferences: avoiding erroneous results•

Specific assay limitations e.g. intact PTH; hCG; testosterone•

Challenges with growth hormone assays•

Medical decision limits and reference intervals (e.g. NMA cut-offs in urine)•

Pre-analytical factors e.g. biological variation, timing (hypoglycaemic work-up)•

Effect of analytical variation on interpretation (e.g. DI)•

Perplexing thyroid function tests

Enquiries: saacb1@gmail.com 				Visit www.saclinpath.co.za for more information.

23

News from the IFCC Website
Diagnóstico in Vitro – Octubre 2018
Enjoy the contents of the new DIAGNÓSTICO IN VITRO Octoberissue! El Consejo Editorial del DIV ha elaborado para todos unnuevo número de la Revista Diagnóstico in Vitro, con el objeto de mantenerlos informados de los eventos,
noticias, artículos científicos y publicaciones que se producen en el ámbito del Laboratorio Clínico.
													Read more

IFCC's Calendar of Congresses, Conferences & Events
Calendar of IFCC Congresses/Conferences
and Regional Federations' Congresses

May 19 - 23, 2019

XXIII IFCC - EFLM EuroMedLab
Barcelona 2019

Barcelona, ES

Sep 10 - 13, 2019

COLABIOCLI Regional Congress 2019Panama, PA

Nov 17 - 20, 2019

APFCB Regional Congress 2019

Jaipur, IN

May 24 - 28, 2020

XXIV IFCC WorldLab - Seoul 2020

Seoul, KR

May 16 - 20, 2021

XXIV IFCC - EFLM EuroMedLab Munich 2021

Munich, DE

Calendar continued on next page24

May 21 - 25, 2023

XXV IFCC - EFLM WorldLab EuroMedLab - Rome 2023

Rome, IT

Calendar of events with IFCC auspices
Oct 10 - 13, 2018

5th EFLM UEMS European Congress in Laboratory Medicine

Oct 11 - 13, 2018

16th National Congress of Clinical Chemistry

Oct 15 - 20, 2018

7th Biennial Scientific International Conferenceof the Association of Clinical Chemists of Nigeria (ACCN)

Lagos, NG

Oct 16 - 17, 20182èmes Journées Francophones de Biologie Médicale

Paris, FR

Oct 16 - 18, 2018

50th National Congress of S.I.Bio.C.
– Laboratory Medicine Innovation in Laboratory Medicine

Naples, IT

Oct 18 - 20, 2018

XIII Ecuadorian Congress of Clinical Biochemistry
and IX International Congress of Clinical Biochemistry

Oct 18 - 19, 2018

Journées de l’innovation en biologie (JIB 2018)

Paris, FRA Multidisciplinary Symposium on“Management of Vitamin D deficiency and Osteoporosis”

Karachi, PK

Oct 23 - 25, 2018

Patologia e Medicina di Laboratorio 4.0

Acicastello, IT

Oct 24 -26, 2018

XII National Congress of Clinical Laboratory

Oct 24 - 27, 2018

X Congreso Argentino de la Calidad en el Laboratorio Clinico - CALILAB

Oct 26 - 30, 2018

International Biochemistry Congress 2018/
29th National Biochemistry Congress of TBS

Bodrum, TR

Oct 29 - 30, 2018

5th Congress on eCardiology and eHealthMoscow, RU

Oct 30, 2018

International Conference on Laboratory Medicine"Laboratory Medicine: 25 Years On"

Padova, IT

Nov 1 - 3, 2018

LMCE 2018 and KSLM 59th Annual Meeting

Seoul, KR

Nov 1 - 4, 2018

2nd International Cell Death Research Congress

Izmir, TR

Nov 9 - 12, 2018

18º Congreso Internacional del Colegio Nacional de Bacteriología

Oct 19, 2018

Antalya, TR
Alexandroupoli, GR

Riobamba, EC

Bilbao, ES
Buenos Aires, AR

Barranquilla, CO

Calendar continued on next page25

Nov 13, 2018

Workshop on Alzheimer's disease "Making the point"

Prague, CZ

Nov 14 - 16, 2018

Promoting Research in the area of Vitamin D

Karachi, PK

Nov 15 - 18, 2018

26th AMBICON Annual Conference

New Delhi, IN

Nov 21, 2018

Réunion LABAC

Paris, FR

II International Conference of the Bolivian Societyof Clinical Biochemistry

La Paz, BO

Nov 29, 2018

Place and role of the medical biology and lab medicine
in the Health System Transformation Strategy

Paris, FR

Nov 29, 2018

International Scientific Meeting of the Centre of MetrologicalTraceability in Laboratory Medicine (CIRME):"Standardization in Laboratory Medicine and Patient Safety"

Milan, IT

Dec 5 - 6, 2018

4th Annual Meeting, Saudi Society for Clinical Chemistry

Riyadh, SA

Dec 7 - 8, 2018

JBP 2018 - Journées de Biologie Praticienne

Paris, FR

Dec 24 - 27, 2018

ICB 2018 - 2nd International Congress on Biomedicine

Teheran, IR

Feb 7 - 8, 2019

International Congress on Quality in Laboratory Medicine

Helsinki, FI

Mar 22 - 23, 2019

5th EFLM European Conference on Preanalytical Phase“Preanalytical Challenges - time for solutions”

Zagreb, HR

Apr 4 - 5, 2019

10th European Symposium on Clinical Laboratory
and In Vitro Diagnostic Industry: ‘The Clinical Laboratory
in the Pregnancy Monitoring'

Barcelona, ES

May 18, 2019

VII International Symposium Laboratory Medicine and Quality- Satellite Meeting IFCC-EFLM EUROMEDLAB 2019

Barcelona, ES

May 19, 2019

International Symposium : Breast Cancer and Environment- Satellite Meeting IFCC-EFLM EUROMEDLAB 2019

Barcelona, ES

May 19, 2019

International Symposium: Standardization and Recommendationsin the Laboratory of Haematology - Satellite Meeting IFCC-EFLM
EUROMEDLAB 2019

Barcelona, ES

Sep 11 - 13, 2019

XXIV Congreso Latinoamericano de Bioquímica Clínica
(COLABIOCLI) and XIV Congreso Nacional de Laboratoristas
Clínicos de Panamá

Panama City, PA

Jun 9 - 12, 2020

XXXVII Nordic Congress in Medical Biochemistry

Trondheim, NO

Nov 28 - Dec 1, 201826

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Corporate Members
AbbottADx Neurosciences
Agappe Diagnostics, Ltd.
Analis R&D Diag.
Asahi Kasei Pharma Corp., AS
BD Life Sciences – Preanalytical Systems
Beckman Coulter, Inc.
Beijing Dream Diagnostics Medicine (DDM)
Technology Co. Ltd.
The Binding Site Group, Ltd.
Bio-Rad Laboratories
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DiatronFujifilm Wako Pure Chemical Corporation
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Mitsubishi Chemical Europe, GmbH
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Shanghai Zhicheng Biol. Tech. Co., Ltd.
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Timedico A/SLabor Dr. Wisplinghoff

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Ukraine: Association for Quality Assurance of Laboratory Medicine (AQALM)

Publisher
Communications and Publications
Division (CPD) of the IFCC
Starting in 2018, the Communications
and Publications Division publishes
ten editions of the e-News per year,
including two double issues.

EditorTahir Pillay, MB ChB, PhD, FRCPath (Lon), FCPath (SA)
Department of Chemical Pathology
University of Pretoria, South Africa
E-mail: enews@ifcc.org

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