Bone Marrow Synoptic Reporting for Hematologic Neoplasms

• Guideline status: Inactive—March 2021
• Inactive guidelines are no longer updated with systematic literature reviews, but the recommendations may still be useful for educational, informational or historic purposes.
• Published online ahead of print: February 23, 2016
• Originally published: September 2016

The evidence-based guideline "Bone Marrow Synoptic Reporting for Hematologic Neoplasms" provides a framework to format clear, appropriate bone marrow reporting to advance patient safety and treatment of hematopoietic disorders.

Our Pathology and Laboratory Quality Center for Evidence-based Guidelines has advanced blood cancer diagnostics by developing nine recommendations to standardize the basic components of a synoptic report template for bone marrow samples. It tackles the complexities of the bone marrow organ and establishes an evidence-based framework that pathologists and laboratories can use to ensure that their synoptic reporting templates for bone marrow samples are complete and clear and provides the appropriate data that will be used to guide patient care.

The key questions that the panel addressed were:

1. Considering the possible primary bone marrow morphologic descriptors, which ones are required on a synoptic report if completeness is the outcome of interest?
2. Considering the possible ancillary studies that could be ordered on a bone marrow specimen, which ones are required on a synoptic report if completeness is the outcome of interest?
3. What sequence of results reporting should be followed?
   1. Considering the options available, is there an optimal report format that should be used if ease of use, error reduction, and fewer incompletes are the outcomes of interest?
   2. Is there an optimal presentation for the elements of the minimum data set if the outcomes of interest are clarity and ease of use?
4. Which components required for correct coding and data repositories should be included in the report?

Download the following tools and resources to help implement the guideline:

• Summary of Recommendations (PDF)
• Methodology Supplement (Supplemental Digital Content) (PDF)
• Teaching Presentation (PDF)
• Frequently Asked Questions (PDF)
• Infographic (PDF)

Review more CAP evidence-based guidelines by the Center.