Use of patient data in the control of urea, creatinine and electrolyte estimations.
Analysis of urea, creatinine and electrolyte results from patients in two distric general hospitals is considered as a means of comparing and evaluating laboratory performance in these tests. The raw patient data, consisting of partially overlapping normal and abnormal subpopulations, is analysed by a procedure for resolving overlapping Gaussian distributions. This method permits determination of reference values from hospital populations and in a modified form can also be used to provide a regular indication of the precision of the biochemical estimations. The information derived from such a mathematical treatment of patient results is compared to that obtained from participation in a national quality control scheme.
D003201:Computers; D003404:Creatinine / Q000032:analysis*; D004573:Electrolytes / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D008722:Methods; D011786:Quality Control; D012016:Reference Values; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013997:Time Factors; D006113:United Kingdom; D014508:Urea / Q000032:analysis*
D004573:Electrolytes; D014508:Urea; D003404:Creatinine