Pilot Point of Care C-Reactive Protein (CRP) Testing EQA

Accreditation Status:

currently not accredited to ISO 17043

Date Scheme started:

2017

Clinical Applicability:

Monitoring of the acute phase response

Analytes:

C-Reactive Protein (POC/555)

Units for Reporting:

mg/L

Samples Distributed:

Liquid format. Normal and pathological human serum.

Additional materials may be produced for specific recovery experiments by the addition of purified CRP to an analyte-free serum matrix.

Number of Distributions per year:

Number of Samples per Distribution:

Frequency of Distributions:

Currently seasonal as outlined in the Distribution Schedule

Schedule of Analysis:

Data Entry is via the web for the submission of results. Data analysis commences 21 days after sample dispatch. Late returns are accepted and will contribute to the laboratory's cumulative performance statistics

Data Analysis:

All Laboratory Trimmed Mean (ALTM) with truncation at 2SD, 3SD, and CV%.

Reports also show method specific statistics. Individual laboratory performance is expressed in terms of MRBIS, SDBIS, and MRVIS

Chosen Coefficient of Variation for C-Reactive protein is 8%

Performance Scoring:

MRVIS

Criteria of Performance:

Laboratory performance is classified in terms of the MRVIS over a running analytical window of 4 Distributions (12 months)

	MRVIS
Ideal	<50
Good	50-100
Adequate	101-200
Poor	>200 or SDBIS > 200

Persistent Poor Performance:

Defined as being in the Poor Performance category for two or more successive Distributions