Quality Control in Laboratory
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The ultimate goal of the clinical biochemistry laboratory is to analyze the substances
in bodyfluids or tissues both qualitatively and quantitatively for diagnosis and
treatment of disease. The presentation of incorrect laboratory results may lead to
wrong diagnosis and treatment leading to fatal results. Hence, it is very important to
generate the reliable data that depends on strict quality control management.
Quality control is the procedures of corrective responses employed for the
detection and measurement of the sources of variation or errors. In simple words,
we can present that quality control is a representation of precision and accuracy
under varying experimental conditions. The various criteria included for reliable
analytical methods are:
Accuracy It is the degree of agreement between large numbers of measurements on
a sample with the actual quantity of a substance present in the sample. Accuracy
depends upon the methodology used for sample measurement.
Precision Precision refers to the reproducibility between repeated determinations of
an analyte. The precision depends on accuracy of the methods used for sample
analysis.
Specificity It is the ability of an analytical method to discriminate between similar
substances being analyzed.
Sensitivity Sensitivity is the capacity of an analytical method to measure the
minimum quantities of analytes under consideration.
To maintain the criteria for reliability in analysis, calibration is done regularly.
Calibration is performed by using the various standards. A standard is the solution
with known amount of analytes and with which the sample can be compared to
derive the result.
#Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2018
V. Kumar, K. D. Gill,Basic Concepts in Clinical Biochemistry: A Practical Guide,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8186-6_3
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