Guest Essay

Dr. Carmen Ricos and her colleagues have provided us with the fifth edition of their Biological Variation Database. New analytes have been added, figures have been updated and in some cases, corrected. This article summarizes all the changes made to the desirable specifications for total error, bias, and imprecision (derived from biological variation) for hundreds of analytes.

Carmen Ricós,1,2 José-Vicente García-Lario,1,3 Virtudes Alvarez,1,4 Fernando Cava,1,5 Marivi Domenech,1,6 Amparo Hernández,1,4 Carlos-Victor Jiménez,1,7 Joana Minchinela,1,7 Carmen Perich,1,8,Margarita Simón,1,9 Carmen Biosca10

1Analytical Quality Committee, Spanish Society of Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Pathology (SEQC),
2 Laboratoris Clínics Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron (Barcelona),
3 Hospital de Motril (Granada),
4 Laboratori Clínic de l’Hospitalet,
5 Fundación-Hospital Alcorcón (Madrid),
6 Laboratori Clínic Manso (Barcelona),
7 Laboratori Clínic de Badalona,
8 Laboratori Clínic Bon Pastor (Barcelona),
9 Laboratori Intercomarcal Vilafranca del Penedés,
10 Servei de Bioquímica Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol (Badalona)

• See the Database of Specifications
• See the References
• See the Reference List
• See the original guest essay
• See the 2001 update
• See the 2004 update
• See the 2006 update

This is the fifth edition of the analytical quality specifications for 312 analytes, derived from a database compiling articles on the within and between-subject biological variation (BV) components (CV_I and CV_G, respectively) in healthy subjects.

The first edition was presented at the Stockholm international consensus conference on Strategies to Set Global Analytical Quality Specifications in Laboratory Medicine and was published in the Scan J Clin Lab Invest 1999;59:475-586. It was also published on this website in June 2000. The second and third edition appeared at the end of 2001, 2003 and 2005, respectively on this website and were also published in Spanish at httlp://www.seqc.es/bd/vb.html.

This fifth edition has the following changes with respect to the previous edition:

• Adiponectin: included in this edition because the first paper appeared in 2006
  
• Bilirubin total: one paper recently found (although published in 2003) has been added, thus slightly changing the median value compared with that published in the previous edition.
  
• CA 125 antigen: one paper recently found (although published in 2005) has been added, thus slightly changing the median value compared with that published in the previous edition.
  
• Carcinoembryonic antigen: one paper recently found (although published in 2005) has been added, thus slightly changing the median value compared with that published in the previous edition.
  
• Cholesterol: one paper published in 2007 has been added, thus slightly changing the median value compared with that published in the previous edition.
  
• Creatinine: one paper published in 2007 has been added, thus slightly changing the median value compared with that published in the previous edition.
  
• Cyfra 21.1: one paper recently found (although published in 2005) has been added, thus slightly changing the median value compared with that published in the previous edition.
  
• Cystatin C: analyte included in this edition because the first paper appeared in 2007
  
• ?-aminolevulinic acid: an error found in the fourth edition has been amended now.
  
• Dipeptidyl-peptiodase IV (ACE): it was omitted, by error, in the fourth edition.
  
• Erythrocyte distribution wide: it was omitted, by error, in the fourth edition.
  
• Ferritin: one paper recently found (although published in 2003) has been added, thus slightly changing the median value compared with that published in the previous edition.
  
• Glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase in blood spot: analyte included in this edition because the first paper appeared in 2007
  
• Imunoglobulin G: one paper published in 2007 has been added, thus slightly changing the median value compared with that published in the previous edition.
  
• LDL cholesterol oxidized: analyte included in this edition because the paper, although published in 2003, has been found recently.
  
• Non-inhibited arylestearase activity: analyte included in this edition because the first paper appeared in 2007
  
• N-terminal (NT)-proBNP: it has been included now first time, although was published in two papers from 2003 that were not found previously.
  
• Paraoxon: analyte included in this edition because the first paper appeared in 2007
  
• Paraoxonase 1 substrate inhibition: analyte included in this edition because the first paper appeared in 2007
  
• Paraoxonase activity (salt stimulatin): analyte included in this edition because the first paper appeared in 2007
  
• Phenylacetate: analyte included in this edition because the first paper appeared in 2007
  
• Porphobilinogen: an error found in the previous edition has been amended.
  
• Retinol: it was omitted, by error, in the fourth edition.
  
• Thyroglobulin: one paper published in 2007 has been added, thus slightly changing the median value compared with that published in the previous edition.
  
• Thyroglobulin antibody: analyte included in this edition because the first paper appeared in 2007
  
• Thyroid peroxidase antibody: analyte included in this edition because the first paper appeared in 2007
  
• Thyrotropin receptor antibody: analyte included in this edition because the first paper appeared in 2007
  
• Thyroxine binding globulin (TBG): it was omitted, by error, in the fourth edition.
  
• Urate: one paper published in 2007 has been added, thus slightly changing the median value compared with that published in the previous edition.
  
• Vascular cell adhesion molecule-1: it has been included now first time, although was published in two papers from 2003 that were not found previously.
  
• Vascular endothelial growth factor: it was omitted, by error, in the fourth edition.
  
• Von Willebrand factor antigen: it has been included now first time, although was published in two papers from 2003 that were not found previously.