Patient pools and the use of "patient means" are valuable tools in quality control illustrated by a bone-specific alkaline phosphatase assay.
BACKGROUND
Quality control (QC) is an essential part of clinical biochemistry to ensure that laboratory test results are reliable and correct. Those tests without a defined reference method constitute a special challenge, as is the case with bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BAP).


RESULTS
The present study reports an example where a shift in a BAP assay was detected by use of a patient pool and supported by a retrospective calculation of "patient mean", while the external QC and specific assay control material were unaffected by the shift.


CONCLUSIONS
Patient pools and the use of patient means remain a useful and inexpensive procedure for internal QC.
Maja
M
Hinge
Erik D
ED
Lund
Ivan
I
Brandslund
Torben
T
Plesner
Jonna S
JS
Madsen
D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D001681:Biological Assay / Q000592:standards*; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000201:enzymology*; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D006801:Humans; D011786:Quality Control
D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase