A Laboratory Guide to Clinical Hematology

Reviewed by Weiran Shan, Research Scientist, University of Virginia on 12/3/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This book described blood disease from several aspects; such as morphology, causes, blood metabolic pathways, and included many histological images.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

Accurate.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 3

Good for reference.

Clarity rating: 5

Some images' clarification is not well understood.

Consistency rating: 4

Good consistency.

Modularity rating: 4

Good modularity.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Organization is good.

Interface rating: 4

Good interface, no display issues.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

Grammatical good.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

No cultural offensive.

Comments

Good reference book for people looking for hemopathy acknowledgement.

Reviewed by Lisa Wright CMA(AAMA) MT, SH, Professor of Medical Assisting, Bristol Community College on 5/27/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This is an excellent reference to guide students through the identification of normal and abnormal blood cell morphology. I do not teach Hematology but as former clinical lab science student I would have found this resource helpful. It is clear and concise and has a format that is engaging and visually appealing.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The lab manual offers accurate and error free guidance with many clear and useful images. The images offer a clear demonstration of the concepts that are required for an entry level hematology laboratory scientist.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Cellular morphology does not need much updating other than an occasional terminology update. This manual appears to be current and relevant and has a strong workplace relevance for a hematology laboratory scientist.

Clarity rating: 5

The manual is written in a clear and easily understood format and integrates concepts in concise paragraphs outlining cause and laboratory test results.

Consistency rating: 5

The manual is consistent chapter to chapter which adds to its ease of use. It would be easy to integrate into course assignments and is an efficient way to review and reinforce learning.

Modularity rating: 5

The modality is what I like like best about this manual. It can be used at the bench side as a quick reference and also as a study tool.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The topics are presented in a logical clear fashion and is easy to switch from one topic to another.

Interface rating: 5

Interfaces beautifully which saves student time and frustration while following up on questions or reviewing for a practical.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammatical errors found.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The text is culturally sensitive and not offensive in any way.

Comments

This manual is easy to use and access. It covers the full range of concepts covered in a Hematology course and is flexible in application as it can be used in several situations.

Reviewed by Sona Kumar, MLT & MLS Program Director, Associate professor, Louisiana State University of Alexandria on 4/30/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 2 see less

The first chapter simply started with the picture and names of different red blood cells in the maturation series. It is assumed that the reader has a prior knowledge of all blood cells. It would be appropriate if there was a chapter on Hematopoiesis, general lab safety, microscopy, slide preparation, staining to name a few. Some information regarding anemia's, leukemia's, RBC indices demands inclusion in the beginning of book. Importance of discussing different abnormal cells (RBC, WBC) and its relation with disease states is missing. Some very basic background information is missing that make it hard on the reader to correlate different topics. Another key thing that is lacking is the end of chapter review questions and case studies. It would be good to know if this book follows certain MLT or MLS certification exam content guidelines.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

Content is accurate with few grammatical errors.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

As this is a open textbook where content can be easily updated, I do not see any issue with relevance.

Clarity rating: 3

Loved ‘TAILS’ (section I.,subsection 2). If the 1st letter of each diseased state was typed in BOLD, it would give more clarity to the reader. Even though the outline is easy to steer but going through each section, I was searching for information as to why the content is presented. There is no correlation between each sections.There is no formal introduction in each section. Abbreviations are listed at some places without the explanation eg. CLL (section I.,subsection 1), EDTA, RNA,DNA.

Consistency rating: 4

Overall the text is internally consistent with the content presented.

Modularity rating: 5

The text is presented in sections and subsections with clear titles which makes it easy to navigate. The majority of content in each subsection is presented in points, which makes it easy to apprehend, unlike long sentences or paragraphs. Picture collection is great!.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

Presentation of topics is well structured. A chapter on the introduction to various cell lines, Hematopoiesis flowchart, safety and microscopy is expected in the beginning of the book.

Interface rating: 2

The downloaded PDF version of the book has spacing issues throughout. Pg.3 is redundant.
Images in the PDF seems to overlap; they should be neatly spaced. Some pages have image missing. It has instructions to view image online but this could be issue for some readers without internet access.
Various sections/subsection pages have a number at the top (e.g. Pg. 22 has number 1, Pg. 32 has number 2 on the top of page). Is that a chapter number? If it is, then the numbering is missing from ‘Contents’ section. Either remove it from each chapter/section or include it in contents.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

Incorrect spelling 'pronoroblast' 2nd image (Section I ,subsection I)
Chapter 80 – Capitalize 'i' in 'igM'

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

No culturally insensitive or offensive information presented.

Comments

Currently, I would not use this textbook as a 'Required textbook' for my class.

Reviewed by Elizabeth Duck, Assistant Professor in Medical Laboratory Science Program, Louisiana State University of Alexandria on 4/20/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 2 see less

Text appears to be missing a comprehensive introduction to Clinical Hematology that may be useful for students (basics of laboratory safety, quality assessment, specimen collection, and roles/responsibilities of the Hematology department in patient care), no comprehensive glossary is present (some terms are presented to students without explanation), no detailed explanation of various key disorders of hemostasis and thrombosis (aPTT, PT, HIT, HUS, HELLP, DIC, etc.), and other areas of hematological analysis are missing (body fluid analysis, cell counts). Other than the previously mentioned concerns, text appears to cover all other areas of Clinical Hematology.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

Errors appear to be rare in the text.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Content of text appears to be up-to-date and text is arranged in such a way that necessary updates will be relatively easy to implement. Text would be a great supplemental resource or a great review resource for students.

Clarity rating: 2

The majority of the text appears to be written as though the reader already has some understanding of Clinical Hematology concepts. Overall, minimal explanation/context is present for most of the complex concepts presented; no introductions or conclusions of concepts presented . There is also no glossary present for clarity of some terms.

Consistency rating: 5

The text appears to be internally consistent in terms of terminology and framework.

Modularity rating: 5

This book appears to be well organized. The table of contents link make finding a specific page in the book very easy, the chapters are consistent with the titles, and the bold words catch a readers eye to important data.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The topics in the text are presented in a logical, clear fashion. Each chapter flows well and progresses well into more advanced concepts/skills without causing confusion.

Interface rating: 2

The downloaded PDF version of the text has a few display features that may distract the reader; there are continuous page spacing issues throughout the text, the text in various tables is quite small and may be hard to read for some readers, and instructions for how to use eBook are unclear/confusing/possibly missing information. Another confusing feature is that not all images are present, the reader is given the following error "An interactive or media element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:...". The PDF also has several hyperlinks that might cause issues for reader accessibility guidelines. Pages 284-285 are distorted.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

Minor grammatical errors present throughout text.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The text does not appear to be culturally insensitive or offensive in any way.

Comments

The addition of a comprehensive glossary section, chapter learning outcomes/objectives, review questions, and case studies may be useful to students. Text would make a great review source for students.

Reviewed by Leah Gautreaux, MLT Program Director/Instructor, Fletcher on 12/12/19

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

Does not explain RBC, Hct, Hb. Students may not be fully aware of what these basic terms mean. Other than that, the book seems pretty comprehensive.

In the Plt section, there are no images of normal platelets on PBS.
RBC indices are also used as a quality control check which is not mentioned in the part of the text that explains this.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

Nucleus description for Basophilic Normoblast states: “indistinct nuclei or not visible” Contradicts 6:1 nucleus to cytoplasm ratio stated earlier.

May-Hegglin Anomaly is described as a Plt disorder but is listed under WBC: Non-Malignant Leukocyte Disorders

MCV calculation indicates units for HCT is “L/L”. These are the SI units, but HCT is usually reported as “%”.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

I see no blatant problems with relevance.

Clarity rating: 4

I like the outline version of this book. I think students would also find it very helpful and easy to navigate.

Not all terms are explained fully. Ex. There is no obvious explanation for some basic terms such as CBC, RBC, Hct, and Hb which would be helpful for students. Other terms like spectrin are used without explanation as well. Students may not be familiar with these terms.

The book provides tips to remember certain material such as the Microcytic Disease states: TAILS is suggested as a way to remember the disorders.

Consistency rating: 5

The text is consistent with format throughout. Terminology is used consistently throughout as well. I could find no discrepancies with the use of terms from one part of the text to another.

Modularity rating: 4

This book is divided into small sections that are easily navigable. The content is kept simple and minimal. At times, the minimalistic nature could hinder a student who is unfamiliar with some of the terminology. I feel there should be a better explanation of some terms.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

For the most part, topics are presented in a logical, clear fashion. An exception to this would be the introduction of the granulocytes; in particular eosinophils and basophils. A student who is unaware that granulocytes originate from the same cell line, may be confused at the sudden appearance of eos and basos in the maturation sequence.

Interface rating: 3

On the downloaded version, the pages are off. It looks like the page breaks are not honored.
The images are very clear even when enlarged which is important with a textbook such as this.
On the download version, many of the images can be viewed through links. This could be problematic in the absence of internet access. Even with access, the pictures download slowly and are difficult to navigate.

Grammatical Errors rating: 3

I found quite a few grammatical and/or spelling errors: 6 from pages 22 to 32.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I found no culturally biased information.

Comments

I would like to use this text as a secondary resource for my students, however, I do not feel it is ready as stand-alone, primary resource.