Home

Institute of Clinical Biochemistry and Hematology (ICBH)

Institute of Clinical Biochemistry and Hematology (ICBH), Charles University Medical School and Faculty Hospital in Pilsen, was established on the 1^st of February 2003 through the consolidation of two independent departments of the Faculty Hospital, namely

Institute of Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory Diagnostics, Charles University Medical School and Faculty Hospital in Pilsen, and
Department of Clinical Hematology, Faculty Hospital in Pilsen

This consolidation led to the formation of the largest laboratory department at the Faculty Hospital in Pilsen, providing clinical-biochemical and hematologic examinations to both premises of the hospital (including ambulatory care in the field of clinical hematology and metabolic disorders). Two co-existing disciplines – clinical biochemistry and clinical hematology – are developing quite autonomously at ICBH. However, their partnership under one institute allowed for utilization of all the advantages resulting from the consolidation of the laboratory areas such as a common use of some rooms, laboratory instruments, personnel, as well as for a unified laboratory results database.

On January 1, 2006 the former Military Hospital in Pilsen became an integral part of the Faculty Hospital. ICBH and Department of Clinical Laboratories of the Military Hospital also fused and the strengthen part of ICBH on the premises of the FH in the city quarter Plzeň-Bory became to work for in- and outpatients of the former Military Hospital.

ICBH is a shared department of the Charles University Medical School and Faculty Hospital in Pilsen. It is located on both premises of the Faculty Hospital in Pilsen (Lochotín and Bory). It has three main objectives: medical care, professional education and training, and biomedical research activities.

The medical care part of ICBH is divided laboratory departments and out-patient departments. In both city quarters there are the following laboratory departments:

Department clinical biochemistry;
Department hematology

Ambulatory services are provided in the frame of two out-patient departments:

Hematological out-patient department (including daily beds and dispensary centre for patients with hemophilia);
Out-patient department for metabolic disorders.

The objectives of ICBH are as follows:

1. Medical Care. Laboratories of ICBH make available a broad spectrum of laboratory methods in the field of clinical biochemistry and hematology, including highly developed (or special) methods. They allow for basic toxicological examinations in acute intoxications and drug addictions as well as methods in industrial toxicology for the entire West Bohemian Region. Additional laboratory methods include therapeutic drug monitoring and its pharmacokinetic evaluation, determination of hormones and vitamins, complex analysis of cerebrospinal fluid, analysis of urinary stones and complex serologic and molecular biological methods for the diagnostics of viral hepatitis. Hematological laboratories of ICBH perform complex diagnostics of hemocoagulation disorders (both bleeding and thrombophilic states) and morphological examination of blood cells including bone marrow punctates.

The work of ICBH is organized via the network of the laboratory information system (LIS) with a direct link to most of the analysers and a connection to all of the clinical hospital departments. Samples are delivered to the laboratory through pneumatic tube system, connecting all laboratories of the University Hospital with clinical departments. Automation of pre-analytic phase is also being developed (marking samples with bar codes, automatic scanning of requests, use of electronic requests, automatic centrifugation, sorting and aliquoting by the means of pre-analytical module). Direct link of most instruments with LIS and automatic transmission of results are obvious. ICBH methods are controlled by the National System of External Quality Assessment in biochemistry, hematology and serology and by several international quality assessment systems for special biochemical and hematological methods.

The scope of the laboratory activity can be best demonstrated by the number of analyses. ICBH provides more than 400 different methods. It serves 1,818 beds of the Faculty Hospital (including 141 beds of the emergency and intensive care units), a number of specialized out-patient departments, and many extramural clinical departments. As for the special laboratory methods, ICBH serves the entire Plzen (Pilsen) Region as well as part of the Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad) Region.

At the out-patient departments, ICBH offers complex services for patients with disorders of hemopoiesis and hemocoagulation (both bleeding and thrombophilic states). Hematological department of ICBH belongs to six Hemophilia Treatment Center (HTC) in the Czech Republic. The center received accreditation on September 20^th 2011. Patients with hemophilia are dispensarised in the frame of Plzen (Pilsen) Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad) Regions. On two daily beds it is possible to provide ambulatory services to patients with hematological diseases such as administration of blood preparations and special blood derivatives. Physicians of ICBH who have specialized training in clinical hematology control the treatment of patients with severe hemocoagulation disorders during their stay at the Faculty Hospital. The ICBH houses the out-patient department for metabolic disorders where mostly patients with hyperlipidemia and other serious risk factors of atherosclerosis are dispensarized.

2. Professional education and training: The staffs of ICBH provide lecturing in clinical biochemistry to fifth-year medical students in both Czech and English languages, and participate in the teaching of pathobiochemistry to the fourth-year students. Also, courses in Laboratory Medicine are offered to students pursuing Bachelor’s degree in Nursing at the School of Medicine in Pilsen, including the distance-based program as well. For many years, the staffs of ICBH are guarantors of education in clinical biochemistry at the Health Care School in Pilsen. Innovation of education was the purpose of several grants provided by the Foundation for the Development of High Schools. Since the school year of 2001/02, the ICBH has been educating postgraduate students in the discipline of biochemistry and pathobiochemistry. ICBH serves as the centre of postgraduate and continuing education within the West Bohemian Region and closely cooperates with the National Institute for Postgraduate Education in Medicine in Prague and National Center for Nursing and Non-Medical Disciplines (previously Institute for Further Education of Health Care Workers) in Brno. ICBH has been accredited for education and training of medical specialists in clinical chemistry and hematology and transfusiology, furtherin practical training of scientists and laboratory technicians in clinical biochemistry.

3. Biomedical Research Activities are based on solving the institute´s own research projects supported by grants and by the Charles University Research Fund "Replacement, support and regeneration of function of vital tissues and organs" (Project P36). Workers of ICBH participate in research in frame of recently opened Biomedicine Center of the Medical School, Charles University in Pilsen. Research activities of ICBH are focused on study of effect of free radicals in etiopathogenesis, course and complication development of serious diseases as atherosclerosis, malignant tumors, diabetes mellitus etc. Among other research fields belong new risk factors of atherogenesis and metabolic changes in patients with end-stage kindey failure.