Initial results of Central European Immunophenotyping Quality Control Program (CEQUAL)

Area of Science:

• Clinical immunology
• Flow cytometry
• Laboratory medicine

Background:

• Immunophenotyping is crucial for diagnosing and monitoring various diseases.
• Standardized quality control is essential for reliable immunophenotyping results.
• The Central Europe Quality Control Program in Immunophenotyping (CEQUAL) was established to address these needs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish and evaluate the first broad international proficiency testing program for immunophenotyping in Central Europe.
• To assess the performance of participating laboratories in immunophenotyping.
• To identify areas for improvement in laboratory practices.

Main Methods:

• A proficiency exercise using stained, stabilized leukocyte preparations was conducted.
• Forty-one laboratories from four Central European countries participated.
• Results and list mode files were analyzed for central tendencies, variability, and distribution patterns.

Main Results:

• Eighty-three percent of laboratories returned usable data.
• After removing outliers, coefficients of variation (CVs) for most lymphocyte populations were below 10%.
• Natural Killer (NK) cells showed a higher CV of 14.8%.

Conclusions:

• The CEQUAL program successfully initiated a broad international quality control framework for immunophenotyping.
• The program demonstrated generally good performance among participating laboratories, with room for improvement in specific cell populations like NK cells.
• Future exercises will incorporate unstained and pathological specimens to further enhance the program's scope and utility.