Correction in article by Bonanad et al. “Coronavirus: the geriatric emergency of 2020. Joint document of the Section on Geriatric Cardiology of the Spanish Society of Cardiology and the Spanish Society of Geriatrics and Gerontology”, . 2020;73:569-576

After the first wave of COVID-19, the Spanish Society of Thoracic Surgeons (SECT) surveyed its members to assess the impact of the pandemic on thoracic oncology surgery in Spain. In May 2020, all SECT members were invited to complete an online, 40-item, multiple choice questionnaire. The questionnaire was developed by the SECT Scientific Committee and sent via email. The overall response rate was 19.2%. The respondents answered at least 91.5% of the items, with only one exception (a question about residents). Most respondents (89.3%) worked in public hospitals. The reported impact of the pandemic on routine clinical activity was considered extreme or severe by 75.5% of respondents (25.5% and 50%, respectively). Multidisciplinary tumour boards were held either with fewer members attending or through electronic platforms (44.6% and 35.9%, respectively). Surgical activity decreased by 95.7%, with 41.5% of centers performing surgery only on oncological patients and 11.7% only in emergencies. Nearly 60% of respondents reported modifying standard protocols for early-stage cancer and in the preoperative workup. Most centers (≈80%) reported using full personal protective equipment when operating on COVID-19 positive patients. The COVID-19 pandemic severely affected thoracic oncology surgery in Spain. The lack of common protocols led to a variable care delivery to lung cancer patients.

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Spanish society of laboratory medicine external quality assurance programmes: evolution of the analytical performance of clinical laboratories over 30 years and comparison with other programmes

Advances in Laboratory Medicine / Avances en Medicina de Laboratorio ◽

10.1515/almed-2020-0019 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Carmen Perich ◽

Carmen Ricós ◽

Fernando Marqués ◽

Joana Minchinela ◽

Angel Salas ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quality Assurance ◽

State Of The Art ◽

Laboratory Medicine ◽

Analytical Performance ◽

External Quality Assurance ◽

Biological Variability ◽

External Quality ◽

Spanish Society ◽

Clinical Laboratories ◽

Quality Specifications

AbstractThe purpose of this study is to understand the evolution of the analytical performance of the laboratories participating in the Spanish society of laboratory medicine (SEQCML) external quality assurance (EQA) programmes during its 30 years of operation and to compare it with the performance of other EQA programmes to establish whether the results are similar. The results obtained during this period are evaluated by applying the biological variability (BV) and state of the art-derived quality specifications. In addition, the results are compared with those obtained by other EQA programme organisations. It is noted that the laboratories participating in the EQA–SEQCML programmes have improved their performance over 30 years of experience and that the specifications derived from biological variation are achievable. It is difficult to compare EQA programmes, due to lack of accessibility and the differences in the design of these programmes (control materials, calculations used and analytical specifications established). The data from this study show that for some biological magnitudes the results obtained by the programmes are not yet harmonised, although efforts are being made to achieve this. Organisers of EQA programmes should also join the harmonisation effort by providing information on their results to enable comparison.

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