[Improvements from the reference material CRM 470 in the standardization of the determination of serum proteins].

The introduction of the CRM 470 in 1993 (certified reference material for 14 serum proteins) and its utilization by industrial companies for cross-calibrating their commercial standards has been an important break-through in protein standardization. This improvement has been clearly illustrated by the last national quality control survey performed in France in may 1995. At this time, about 60% of the 1,870 participants have already adopted the new standardization.

[Serum levels of IgG, IgA, IgM, transferrin and haptoglobin. III. Results obtained with monoclonal immunoglobulins].

This study is the third part of a multicenter evaluation carried out with ten analysers. Five proteins (IgG, IgA, IgM, transferrin, haptoglobin) were assayed in three sera, each containing one monoclonal Ig (IgG, IgA, or IgM). The expected agreement was not obtained with these particular sera, except in the case of haptoglobin.

[Serum determination of IgG, IgA, IgM, transferrin and haptoglobin. I. Attempt at normalization of results].

This study demonstrates the advantages and limitations of normalizing results for five serum proteins (IgG, IgA, IgM, transferrin and haptoglobin), analysed in liquid phase on ten different systems (open clinical chemistry and dedicated protein analysers). Seven sets of results from normal and pathological sera (without monoclonal proteins) were compared using: - calibrators supplied by each manufacturer; - - serial dilutions of a single stabilized pool of liquid serum. In addition to validating the quality of the stabilised serum, we have been able to identify: - significant variations in results using different analytical systems for the same sample; - a major reduction in these variations, often greater than 50%, through normalization using a common serum pool.

Assessment of recently developed blood gas analysers: a multicentre evaluation.

Providing guidelines for testing expected inaccuracy and imprecision is still a matter under debate. The Expert Panel of the French Society of Clinical Chemistry has developed a protocol, which was based on a comparative multi-centre evaluation of four instruments: the Ciba-Corning 278, the Instrumentation Laboratory 1306, the Nova SP 5 and the ABL 330. The purpose was to evaluate the analytical performance and efficiency of the analysers.