EQA/PT scheme to improve the equivalence of enzymatic results between mutual recognition laboratories in Beijing

Abstract

Background To utilize the external quality assessment (EQA)/proficiency testing (PT) scheme to evaluate the equivalence of different clinical enzymatic measuring systems in Beijing. Methods The Beijing Center for Clinical Laboratory (BCCL) distributed three investigation samples to mutual recognition clinical laboratories in Beijing including alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), γ‐glutamyltransferase (GGT), creatine kinase (CK), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). These samples were derived from serum pools with values assigned by the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC) enzymatic reference measurement procedures (RMPs). Each laboratory performed duplicate tests of the samples. Then, the samples at level 1 were used to recalibrate individual measuring systems for repeating the tests. BCCL collected data for evaluation of their analytical quality. Results Before recalibration, the biases of ALT and AST tests were not traceable to the IFCC RMPs, and the bias pass rates of GGT, CK, and LDH tests were only 51.2%, 55.7%, and 48.6% respectively. After recalibration, the pass rates of ALT, AST, GGT, CK, and LDH increased to 95.1%, 82.9%, 95.1%, 97.1%, and 70.0% respectively. The EQA/PT also showed that after recalibration, more than 95% of laboratories met the optimum level specifications of the biological variation for ALT, AST, GGT, and CK tests and the desirable for LDH tests. Conclusion The enzymatic tests in Beijing need to be further standardized by category 1 or 2 EQA/PT scheme for mutual recognition between clinical laboratories. The criteria of biological variation are more relevant for determining the equivalence of clinical enzymatic tests.

Model of implementing proficiency testing in Vietnam, a developing country

“…1 . Although with the development of medical technology, automatic analyzers account for a large proportion in developed countries, in developing countries such as Bhutan, SAA still maintains a significant position in biochemistry laboratories with 17/19 analyzers [ 17 , 21 ]. Another reason is the size of the laboratory and the capacity of SAA to meet the demand of district hospitals, clinics, and health centers with limited tests with 10–30 patients per day.…”