SEQC Spanish Society of Laboratory Medicine

Society of Laboratory Medicine

• These sessions seek to give visibility to residents of all hospitals in Spain, with the presentation of various clinical cases of interest to the Clinical Laboratory specialist

• The SEMEDLAB Academy is the successor to SEQC^ML Academy, after the recent merger of the three main Laboratory Medicine societies in Spain (AEBM-ML, AEFA, and SEQC^ML) that has given rise to the Spanish Society of Laboratory Medicine

The Residents and Young Scientists Commission of the Spanish Society of Laboratory Medicine (SEMEDLAB) organized a new edition of “Interhospital Sessions as part of its virtual training project SEMEDLAB Academy, with the aim of giving visibility to residents of all hospitals and presenting a series of clinical cases of interest to the Clinical Laboratory specialist.

Both residents and physicians are invited to attend these sessions, and the special feature is that the speakers are residents in training who have been guided by physicians who are experts in the area. Thanks to these sessions, residents not only acquire the medical or scientific knowledge to prepare a presentation and follow a clinical case, but they also develop communication skills and overcome possible stage fright.

In this particular session, resident Rafael J. García, mentored by Dr. María Josefa Muruzábal of the Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital in Santander, delved into the laboratory tests necessary to detect a Clostridium perfringens infection and highlighted the importance of paying attention and looking for the cause of massive hemolysis in the samples we receive in the laboratory. In most cases we would think that this is due to an error in the pre-analytical phase, but in the case presented the massive hemolysis was caused by the Clostridium Perfringens infection.

Next, resident Cristina Martínez, mentored by Dr. Fernando Marqués from the German Trias i Pujol University Hospital in Barcelona, ​​presented a rare clinical case of Waldestrom's Macroglobulinemia, in which the patient presented infiltration at the level of the central nervous system, with the peculiarity that the diagnosis was made thanks to the analysis of cerebrospinal fluid.

Finally, the session concluded with a presentation by resident Myriam Pescador, mentored by Dr. Lorena Salazar from the Cruces University Hospital in Bilbao, on acute kidney failure due to sulfonamide crystalluria and how the visualization of the urinary sediment was the main laboratory test that led to the diagnosis of this condition, allowing its early treatment and the recovery of the patient.

The SEMEDLAB Academy came about as a result of the recent integration of the three main Laboratory Medicine societies in Spain: AEBM-ML, AEFA and SEQC^ML, which has given rise to the Spanish Society of Laboratory Medicine (SEMEDLAB).

Specifically, it is the successor to SEQC^ML Academy, reflecting the new unified identity of the three societies, "but maintaining the same commitment to training excellence," according to Dr. Julia Maroto, member of the SEMEDLAB Residents and Young Scientists Commission, president of the previous SEQC^ML Residents and Young Scientists Commission, and specialist in Clinical Analysis at the Clínica Universidad de Navarra.

In the words of Dr. Maroto, this new SEMEDLAB Academy was created to achieve its main objectives, “which range from promoting and disseminating knowledge and science, to serving as a platform for debate and professional enrichment for Clinical Laboratory professionals at a national and international level. Now, thanks to the merger of the three Spanish clinical laboratory societies, this will be promoted by a larger community with a common interest: laboratory medicine.”

Spanish Society of Laboratory Medicine (SEMEDLAB)

The Spanish Society of Laboratory Medicine (SEMEDLAB) —formally established on January 1, 2025— is an active member of the international and European Clinical Laboratory Federations IFCC and EFLM. It currently encompasses more than 4,000 professionals and is the result of the merger between the three previous scientific associations of Laboratory Medicine-Clinical Laboratory in Spain: AEBM-ML, AEFA, and SEQC^ML. The Society aims to improve patient service, optimize resources, and strengthen the ongoing training of professionals in the sector. Likewise, with this merger, it seeks to centralize collaboration between experts, improve international projection, generate more, improve legal services to members, as well as optimize continuing education courses, research, and the organization of scientific conferences.

https://semedlab.es/