Question

You are conducting a quality control (QC) test on the urinalysis dipsticks used routinely in the clinic. Explain the significance of the QC check and discuss the documentation required for this procedure. How often is QC done in the clinic setting? Please write in your own words and don't over write. thank you

Answer 1

ans;

QC of testing procedures is part of a much larger system referred to as quality assurance (QA), the purpose of which is to provide overall quality patient care.
-QC procedures are performed to ensure that acceptable standards for accuracy and precision are being met during the process of specimen testing to provide reliable results.

Urinalysis dipsticks contain discrete reagent pads to semi-quantitatively test for the presence of bilirubin, blood, creatinine, glucose, ketones, leukocytes, nitrite, pH, protein, specific gravity, and urobilinogen in a urine sample

Running daily Quality Control (QC) test on the urinalysis dipstick in the clinic helps monitor the accuracy and precision of the complete analytical process of a urine test.

The main significance of this QC test on the urinalysis ensure no contamination, avoid result error and reduced risk of leaching from the reagent pads.

*Common errors associated with urinalysis:

• Use of compromised or expired reagent strips,
• incorrect reaction timing.
• leaving reagent strips in the sample too long.

*The current practices regarding the minimum frequency of QC are often based on regulatory requirements, such as CLIA’s minimum of 2 levels of control per day or CMS’s more recent guidelines for “Equivalent QC”, which might reduce the frequency to 2 levels once per week or even 2 levels once per month. Another approach under development by CLSI recommends the use of risk management for customizing QC in the laboratory. In this approach for “alternate QC,” manufacturers would make a risk assessment of their analytic system, eliminate risks of failure when possible, mitigation those risks, and report the “residual risks” to the laboratory, which should then help the laboratory customize its QC system. This customization could employ a variety of mechanisms for prevention and control, a primary one being the adjustment of the frequency of QC to monitor the remaining risks.

An important objective of a QC System should be to avoid circumstances where, upon repeat testing, the laboratory continues to provide erroneous results