title: Consensus guidelines for anticardiolipin antibody testing.
abstract: Despite the use of standardized GPL and MPL units, significant inter-laboratory and inter-method variation in anticardiolipin antibody (aCL) testing still exists, limiting the clinical utility and inter-laboratory portability of test results. This article reviews published and unpublished guidelines (some developed using consensus procedures) that can be used to improve various aspects of: (1) specimen collection; (2) aCL assay manufacture and testing procedures; (3) quality control; and (4) interpretation (including reporting) of results; and in doing so, improve the consistency of aCL results between different laboratories, assays and runs. However, there is a still a need for consensus guidelines that combine and deal with all of the aforementioned aspects of aCL testing and reporting.
authors.affiliation: Division of Immunology, Queensland Health Pathology Services, Princess Alexandra and Royal Brisbane Hospitals, 1st Floor, Building 15, Woolloongabba, QLD 4102, Australia. richard_wong@health.qld.gov.au
authors.forename: Richard C W
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Wong
mesh_terms: D017153:Antibodies, Anticardiolipin / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology*; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000737:chemistry*; D002138:Calibration; D002624:Chemistry, Clinical / Q000379:methods*; D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012107:Research Design
chemical_list: D017153:Antibodies, Anticardiolipin; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal