Are Guidelines Guiding us on How to Utilize Laboratory Tests?

Increasing patient risks and costs associated with the delivery of health care services have been related to inappropriate and uncontrolled use of biomarkers which make evidence-based guideline recommendations for best practice increasingly important. The translation of basic scientific discoveries into clinically meaningful studies and then to evidence-based clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) or health policy is, however, not straightforward. CPGs are potentially the most influential publications as they aim to guide clinical decisions and impact patient outcomes; hence, current approaches to their development often fail scientific publication standards. Critical appraisal of CPGs has revealed that many do not involve laboratory professionals in formulating recommendations on the use of tests; the composition of the panel could influence the scope of guidelines and over-represent certain stakeholders’ views; numerous CPGs do not have rigorous evidence-based methodology and miss essential information important for the correct interpretation and application of laboratory results.