The added value of digital morphological analysis in the evaluation of peripheral blood films: the report of an UKNEQAS external quality assessment sample

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Rosetti ◽  
Barbara De la Salle ◽  
Giorgia Farneti ◽  
Alice Clementoni ◽  
Giovanni Poletti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Assessment ◽  
Peripheral Blood ◽  
Morphological Analysis ◽  
External Quality Assessment ◽  
Added Value ◽  
External Quality

External quality assessment of urine particle identification: a Northern European experience

2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (s2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Timo T. Kouri ◽  
Pirjo Makkonen
Keyword(s):  
Epithelial Cells ◽  
Quality Assessment ◽  
Blood Cells ◽  
External Quality Assessment ◽  
White Blood Cells ◽  
Particle Identification ◽  
Added Value ◽  
External Quality ◽  
Morphological Findings ◽  
Future Technologies

AbstractExternal quality assessment (EQA) schemes for urinalysis have been provided by Labquality Ltd, the publicly owned EQA service provider in Finland, since the 1980s. In 2014, the scheme on urine particle identification had 329 participating laboratories, out of which 60% from 19 countries were outside Finland. Each of the four annual web-based rounds were distributed with four Sternheimer-stained images from a single patient sample, as viewed both by bright-field and phase-contrast optics. Participants reported classified categories either at the basic or at the advanced level. Participating laboratories received assessment of their analytical performance as compared to their peers, including reflections from clinical data and preanalytical detail of the specimen. In general, reporting of basic urine particles succeeded in the eight schemes during the years 2013–2014 as follows: red blood cells 82%–92%, white blood cells 82%–97%, squamous epithelial cells 92%–98%, casts 84%–94%, and small epithelial cells 73%–83% (minimum and maximum of expected or accepted reports). This basic level of differentiation is used in routine laboratory reports, or as verification of results produced by automated instruments. Considerable effort is needed to standardise national procedures and reporting formats, in order to improve the shown figures internationally. Future technologies may help to alleviate limitations created by single digital images. Despite improvements, degenerating cells and casts always exhibit intermediate forms creating disputable classifications. That is why assessment of performance should encompass justified acceptable categories into the assessed outcomes. Preanalytical and clinical detail provide essential added value to morphological findings.

scholarly journals The versatility of external quality assessment for the surveillance of laboratory and in vitro diagnostic performance: SARS-CoV-2 viral genome detection in Austria

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Buchta ◽  
Jeremy V. Camp ◽  
Jovana Jovanovic ◽  
Peter Chiba ◽  
Elisabeth Puchhammer-Stöckl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Assessment ◽  
External Quality Assessment ◽  
False Negative ◽  
Positive Sample ◽  
Performance Criteria ◽  
External Quality ◽  
Assay Sensitivity ◽  
Dilution Series ◽  
Test Systems

Abstract Objectives External quality assessment (EQA) schemes provide information on individual and general analytical performance of participating laboratories and test systems. The aim of this study was to investigate the use and performance of SARS-CoV-2 virus genome detection systems in Austrian laboratories and their preparedness to face challenges associated with the pandemic. Methods Seven samples were selected to evaluate performance and estimate variability of reported results. Notably, a dilution series was included in the panel as a measure of reproducibility and sensitivity. Several performance criteria were evaluated for individual participants as well as in the cohort of all participants. Results A total of 109 laboratories participated and used 134 platforms, including 67 different combinations of extraction and PCR platforms and corresponding reagents. There were no false positives and 10 (1.2%) false negative results, including nine in the weakly positive sample (C t ∼35.9, ∼640 copies/mL). Twenty (22%) laboratories reported results of mutation detection. Twenty-five (19%) test systems included amplification of human RNA as evidence of proper sampling. The overall linearity of C t values from individual test systems for the dilution series was good, but inter-assay variability was high. Both operator-related and systematic failures appear to have caused incorrect results. Conclusions Beyond providing certification for participating laboratories, EQA provides the opportunity for participants to evaluate their performance against others so that they may improve operating procedures and test systems. Well-selected EQA samples offer additional inferences to be made about assay sensitivity and reproducibility, which have practical applications.

Commutability of possible external quality assessment materials for progesterone measurement

2021 ◽  
Vol 87 ◽  
pp. 39-45
Author(s):  
Xilian Yi ◽  
Yufei Wang ◽  
Tianjiao Zhang ◽  
Jie Zeng ◽  
Haijian Zhao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Assessment ◽  
External Quality Assessment ◽  
External Quality

Appropriateness of cholesterol and triglycerides reporting checked by External Quality Assessment programs

2003 ◽  
Vol 333 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Secchiero ◽  
Laura Sciacovelli ◽  
Lorena Zardo ◽  
Mario Plebani
Keyword(s):  
Quality Assessment ◽  
External Quality Assessment ◽  
External Quality
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document