ASCP MLT Guidelines: What about the Subjects?

The American Society for Clinical Pathology Board of Certification (ASCP BOC) has condensed the ASCP MLT guidelines into seven subjects and some calculations and reference ranges.

Here, we will explain the main topics of all seven subjects to help you deepen your comprehension of the MLT ASCP exam syllabus.

Stay with us till the end of the article. Let’s kick off.

MLT(ASCP) Guidelines

The following are the main topics and subtopics for all the MLT ASCP certification exam content areas:

ASCP MLT Guidelines: For Blood Banking

I: Blood Products

Donors, processing, storage, blood components, and blood components quality control.

II: Blood Group Systems

Genetics, the role of blood group in transfusion, and biochemistry/antigens.

III: Blood Group Immunology

Immune response, antigen-antibody interaction, immunoglobulins, and complement.

IV: Physiology and Pathophysiology

Hemolytic disease of the newborn, physiology of blood, anemias, hemostasis and coagulation, and transplantation.

V: Serologic and Molecular Testing

Routine tests, reagents, leukocyte, application of special tests & reagents, platelet testing, and quality assurance.

VI: Transfusion Practice

Component therapy, indication for transfusion, blood administration, adverse effects of transfusion, and patient blood management.

ASCP MLT Guidelines: Urinalysis and Body Fluids

I: Urinalysis and Body Fluids

Physical, chemical, renal physiology, microscopic, and disease states.

ASCP MLT Guidelines: Chemistry

I: General Chemistry

Carbohydrates, lipids, and heme derivatives.

II: Proteins and Enzymes

Enzymes, proteins & other nitrogen-containing compounds.

III: Acid-Base, Blood Gases, and Electrolytes

Acid-base determinations and electrolytes.

IV: Special Chemistry

Endocrinology, therapeutic drug monitoring, vitamins and nutrition, and toxicology.

ASCP MLT Guidelines: Hematology

I: Hematology Physiology

Production, function, and destruction

II: Hematology Disease States

Leukocytes, erythrocytes, and platelets.

III: Hematology Lab Testing

Cell counts, hemoglobin, morphology evaluation and differentials, indices, special stains, hematocrit, hemolytic indicators, other studies, cytogenetic and molecular testing, and flow cytometry immunophenotyping.

IV: Hemostasis

Physiology, disease states, and lab determinations.

ASCP MLT Guidelines: Immunology

I: Principle of Immunology

Immune system physiology, complement, immunoglobulins, and antigen-antibody interactions.

II: Diseases of the Immune System

Autoimmunity, immunoproliferative diseases, hypersensitivity, and immunodeficiency.

III: Transplantation

HLA typing, tumor immunology, and graft-versus-host disease

IV: Infectious Disease Serology

Viral pathogens’ epidemiology and clinical significance

V: Serologic Procedures

Thyroid antibodies, ANA, immunofluorescence, rheumatoid factor, nontreponemal syphilis testing, treponemal syphilis testing, labeled immunoassays.

VI: Test Results

Confirmatory testing, interpretation, and disease state correlation

ASCP MLT Guidelines: For Microbiology

I: Preanalytical Procedures

Collection and transport of samples, specimen processing, stain: interpretation, procedures, and principle, stains: principle and methods.

II: Analytic Procedures for Bacteriology

Bone marrow and blood, body fluids from normally sterile sites, cerebrospinal fluid, lower and upper respiratory, skin, soft tissues, and bone, gastrointestinal, genital tract, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, antibiotic resistance, identification methods, urine, VRE, NRSA/MSSA, ESBL/CRE screening, and BSL-3 pathogens and select agents.

III: Analytic Procedures for Mycology, Parasitology, Virology, and Mycobacteriology

Mycology, parasitology, mycobacteriology and Nocardia spp, and virology

IV: Postanalytical Procedures

Documentation practices, issuing corrected reports, urgent and critical value reporting, result reviews & autoverification, and prevention and public health.

ASCP MLT Guidelines: For Laboratory Operations

I: Quality Assessment or Troubleshooting

Compliance, quality control, regulation, POCT (point-of-care testing), preanalytical, analytical, and postanalytical.

II: Safety

Safety programs & practices, and emergency procedures

III: Laboratory Mathematics

Standard curve, concentration, volume, and dilutions, sensitivity, specificity, & predictive value, mode, median, mean, and confidence intervals.

IV: Automated or Manual Methods and Instrumentations

Hematology instrumentation, automated microbiology procedures, molecular methods, flow cytometry, nephelometry, fluorometry, electrochemistry, electrophoresis, osmometry, photometry, spectrometry, and basic lab equipment.