Model of implementing proficiency testing in Vietnam, a developing country.

Backgrounds And Aims: The aim of this study is to provide a good approach for a quantitative EQA scheme assigned value with limited resources.

Materials And Methods: Twelve lyophilized EQA items were distributed to participants in 2021 from North to Southeast Vietnam to measure the concentration of nine parameters, including glucose, urea, creatinine, cholesterol, triglyceride, uric acid, AST, ALT, and GGT. The consensus value of the expert group and all participants were calculated and statistically compared to choose the most appropriate consensus value.

Development of a robust blood smear preparation procedure for external quality assessment.

Introduction: The external quality assessment (EQA) scheme is particularly important for laboratory performance evaluation. Peripheral blood smears are necessary to identify morphological features, and the procedure for preparing such smears must be robust to meet the ISO 15189 standard. Although blood smear preparation is a routine activity in medical laboratories, an appropriate procedure for preparing a series of blood smears with high homogeneity and durable stability for EQA purposes has not yet been published elsewhere.