title: Limits of detection and quantification, as applied to an assay for digoxin.
abstract: The low-range sensitivity of a drug assay in routine use is an important aspect of that assay's clinical usefulness. We define three concepts for determining low range sensitivity: LC, the detection threshold; LD, the lower limit of "virtually ensured" detection; and LQ, the limit of quantitative determination. To illustrate these concepts, we apply them to a radioimmunoassay for digoxin, and show that for standards ranging from 0.3 to 5.0 micrograms/L, the LQ is 0.35 micrograms/L (+/- 10%).
mesh_terms: D004077:Digoxin / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D013677:Medical Laboratory Science / Q000592:standards*; D011863:Radioimmunoassay / Q000379:methods; D012016:Reference Values; D013223:Statistics as Topic
chemical_list: D004077:Digoxin