Six Sigma Analysis of Vitamin D Measurement Using External Quality Assessment Program

Standardization of vitamin analysis continues around the world, and much effort has been made to improve the accuracy of the results. This study analyzed the sigma metrics of the vitamin D test using the external quality assessment (EQA) program. Sigma metrics is used for quantitative tests performed in the laboratory, and the test results can be objectively visualized in terms of quality. This analysis was performed based on the accuracy of the College of American Pathologists (CAP) using the results of the 2019 accuracy-based vitamin D (ABVD) survey, and about 300 laboratories participated in the survey. Reference values were obtained by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reference laboratory. At six different concentrations, the sigma metrics were analyzed to be 1.00, 1.85, 2.42, 1.01, 1.54 and 0.78, respectively. An average of 1.43 sigma metrics was determined. In particular, only positive biases for ABVD-16 and 17 were shown in the liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), which is the standard method for vitamin D determination when compared to the reference values. The causes of the difference can be explained by cross reactivity to various vitamin D metabolites. Laboratories need to improve their overall performance.

Abstract licence: CC BY-NC

A person counts once a day per paper. We keep no cookie and no address: a reader is a hash that changes every day. Any month under five reads shows no number.