Repeat patient testing-based quality control shows promise for use in veterinary biochemistry testing

Area of Science:

• Clinical Chemistry
• Laboratory Quality Control
• Veterinary Diagnostics

Background:

• Repeat patient testing-based quality control (RPT-QC) offers a statistical alternative to traditional commercial quality control materials (QCM).
• Evaluating novel biological matrices for RPT-QC is crucial for expanding its application.
• Canine heparinized plasma presents a potential matrix for RPT-QC due to its availability and characteristics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the suitability of canine heparinized plasma for RPT-QC.
• To evaluate the performance of RPT-QC in detecting analytical errors in clinical chemistry testing.
• To compare the efficacy of RPT-QC with canine plasma against QCM-QC.

Main Methods:

• Investigated canine plasma stability under refrigerated conditions (7 days) at varying time points.
• Validated RPT-QC limits for 17 common analytes using prospectively measured plasma.
• Challenged established RPT-QC limits by introducing simulated analytical errors.
• Compared RPT-QC performance with QCM-QC using Westgard's EZ Rules 3 for four control rules.

Main Results:

• Canine plasma demonstrated acceptable stability for RPT-QC after 7 days of refrigeration.
• RPT-QC limits were successfully validated for 12 out of 17 common measurands.
• Validated RPT-QC effectively identified simulated analytical errors.
• RPT-QC demonstrated performance comparable to QCM-QC in detecting analytical errors across common control rules.

Conclusions:

• Canine heparinized plasma, when refrigerated for 7 days, is a suitable matrix for RPT-QC.
• RPT-QC with canine plasma can be implemented with simple control rules and minimal control materials.
• The findings support the applicability of canine plasma-based RPT-QC in both reference and in-clinic laboratory settings.