Quality assurance and standardization: summary of the satellite meeting, Turku, Finland, 11-12 June 1999.
The Quality Assurance (QA) and Standardization satellite meeting addressed five major issues in newborn screening: (i) Pre- and post-analytical phases are important in the overall quality of screening, and quality assurance programs should include these aspects. (ii) It is possible to run a single screening program using laboratories on more than one site, as is done in Europe, California and Cuba. Special quality assurance procedures are necessary for success. (iii) It is possible to achieve improved analytical quality and international comparison of results by use of common reference materials such as the amino acid materials developed in Europe and the US. It will be important to use tested paper with defined performance characteristics. (iv) It is appropriate for newborn screening programs to be accredited, but it will also be important to develop criteria for pre- and post-analytic phases of screening. (v) A new QA program is being developed for Latin America. The Australasian QA program now includes amino acids and acylcarnitines in a form suitable for tandem mass spectrometry blind QA. The European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology has developed guidelines for CAH screening.
Webster
D
D
National Testing Centre, Auckland, New Zealand.
Dhondt
J L
JL
Hannon
W H
WH
Loeber
G
G
Torresani
T
T
D000068:Accreditation; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007232:Infant, Newborn, Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D015997:Neonatal Screening / Q000592:standards*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D011786:Quality Control; D017215:Satellite Communications