Quality Requirements and Standards
The third part of an extended discussion of HbA1c methods and the analytical quality necessary for patient care. This lesson draws on the January 2010 issue of Clinical Chemistry, which had a full-fledged evaluation study on Point-of-Care HbA1c instruments, as well as a 2009 abstract of the performance of 2 new methods.
The second part of an extended discussion of HbA1c methods and the analytical quality necessary for patient care. This lesson draws on the January 2010 issue of Clinical Chemistry, which had a full-fledged evaluation study on Point-of-Care HbA1c instruments.
The January 2010 issue of Clinical Chemistry had a full-fledged evaluation study on Point-of-Care HbA1c instruments. Surprisingly, it found that most of these POC devices do not provide enough analytical quality. Here's an extended discussion of what this means.
In 2009, US laboratories were reporting surges in the number of vitamin D tests being ordered - increases of 50% to even 100%. But beyond the growth in testing and usage, what's the quality required by this type of testing?
In the March 2002 issue of Clin Chem, the NACB published a long paper about the use of laboratory tests for patients with diabetes. Dr. Westgard examines their "evidence-based" recommendations, and finds some poor Sigma values. (Preview)