Editor – Protocols are increasingly important in clinical practice. They are the fingerprint, the biometric, the iris recognition of evidence-based medicine. In the article ‘Neutropenic sepsis: a potentially life-threatening complication of chemotherapy’ (Clin Med 2014;14:538–42), the authors reproduce an algorithm from NICE guidelines [CG151]. The original NICE version contains poorly sequenced, disorganised, repetitive and often self-evident copy. In adapting this original for printing in the journal, Clinical Medicine staff have exacerbated these problems by introducing dominant, asymmetrical colour bars that draw the eye away from a spatter of five-point text that is far too small to see comfortably, while typographical errors (eg Examiniation and spectic) and script that breaches the edge of densely coloured boxes further reduce clarity.
If communication is key and timely intervention critical, why is so little care taken by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence and others to incorporate even the most basic elements of graphic design?
Not very much is missing from the following 155 words (Fig 1), compared with the original 461 words.
Revised protocol. CRP = C-reactive protein; FBC = full blood count; GCS-F = granulocytecolony stimulating factor; LFTs = liver function tests; U&E = urea & electrolytes.
- © 2015 Royal College of Physicians
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