Abstract
Over 900 laboratories participated in the Diagnostic Immunology portion of the 1976 Proficiency Testing Program, which was provided by the Center of Disease Control under the authority of the Clinical Laboratories Improvement Act of 1967. One hundred specimens prepared by the Center for Disease Control for analysis were distributed on a quarterly schedule or in special surveys. Feedback from participating laboratories included over 37,500 qualitative and 33,000 quantitative responses, which were analyzed to determine individual laboratory proficiency levels. In addition, information supplied by participants in each survey helped to delineate trends in testing protocols. The specimens chosen for analysis called for a broad range of tests commonly performed in diagnostic immunology laboratories, including those for rubella antibodies, hepatitis B surface antigen, bacterial antibodies, rheumatoid factor, immunoglobulins and other serum-specific proteins, and carcinoembryonic antigen. A summary of the data analysis is provided so that the laboratories can improve their overall performance levels.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Anderson S. G., Bentzon M. W., Houba V., Krag P. International reference preparation of rheumatoid arthritis serum. Bull World Health Organ. 1970;42(2):311–318. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Rowe D. S., Grab B., Anderson S. G. An international reference preparation for human serum immunoglobulins G, A and M: content of immunoglobulins by weight. Bull World Health Organ. 1972;46(1):67–79. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Taylor R. N., Ehrhard H. B., Marcus S. Evaluation of tests for infectious mononucleosis through proficiency testing. Health Lab Sci. 1976 Jan;13(1):34–44. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Taylor R. N., Fulford K. M., Huong A. Y. Results of a nationwide proficiency test for carcinoembryonic antigen. J Clin Microbiol. 1977 Apr;5(4):433–438. doi: 10.1128/jcm.5.4.433-438.1977. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Taylor R. N., Fulford K. M., Jones W. L. Reduction of variation in results of rheumatoid factor tests by use of a serum reference preparation. J Clin Microbiol. 1977 Jan;5(1):42–45. doi: 10.1128/jcm.5.1.42-45.1977. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Taylor R. N., Fulford K. M. Results of the Center for Disease Control Proficiency Testing Program for the detection of hepatitis B surface antigen. J Clin Microbiol. 1976 Jul;4(1):32–39. doi: 10.1128/jcm.4.1.32-39.1976. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]