A clinician's guide to the office measurement of cholesterol

The office laboratory has the potential to be an ideal setting for cholesterol testing if accurate test results are achieved. This study describes the performance of three office chemistry analyzers (Abbott Vision, Boehringer-Mannheim Reflotron, and Kodak Ektachem DT60 Analyzer) in the measurement of cholesterol. The accuracy of these instruments was assessed by testing aliquots of 84 plasma specimens and comparing these results with values obtained in one of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Lipid Research Clinic laboratories. To evaluate instrument precision, results from each of the three instruments were compared with the cholesterol standards recently released by the College of American Pathologists. When operated according to the manufacturers' recommended procedures, each of the three instruments demonstrated analytic capabilities that met the current accuracy and precision goals established by the National Cholesterol Education Program. Analytic issues that are pertinent to the clinician's role as both the office laboratory director and the test interpreter are reviewed.