Design of external quality assessment schemes and definition of the roles of their providers in future epidemics.

Lancet Microbe

INSTAND eV Society for Promoting Quality Assurance in Medical Laboratories, Düsseldorf, Germany; IQVD GmbH, Institut für Qualitätssicherung in der Virusdiagnostik, Berlin, Germany; GBD Gesellschaft für Biotechnologische Diagnostik, Berlin, Germany.

Published: July 2023


Category Ranking

98%

Total Visits

921

Avg Visit Duration

2 minutes

Citations

20

Article Abstract

During an epidemic, individual test results form the basis of epidemiological indicators such as case numbers or incidence. Therefore, the accuracy of measures derived from these indicators depends on the reliability of individual results. In the COVID-19 pandemic, monitoring and evaluating the performance of the unprecedented number of testing facilities in operation, and novel testing systems in use, was urgently needed. External quality assessment (EQA) schemes are unique sources of data reporting on testing performance, and their providers are recognised contacts and support for test facilities (for technical-analytical topics) and health authorities (for planning the monitoring of infection diagnostics). To identify information provided by SARS-CoV-2 genome detection EQA schemes that is relevant for public health microbiology, we reviewed the current literature published in PubMed between January, 2020, and July, 2022. We derived recommendations for EQA providers and their schemes for best practices to monitor pathogen-detection performance in future epidemics. We also showed laboratories, test facilities, and health authorities the information and benefits they can derive from EQA data, and from the non-EQA services of their providers.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10162712PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2666-5247(23)00072-1DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

external quality
8
quality assessment
8
future epidemics
8
eqa schemes
8
test facilities
8
health authorities
8
design external
4
schemes
4
assessment schemes
4
schemes definition
4

Similar Publications

Objective: To improve B field homogeneity in prostate MR imaging and spectroscopy using a custom-designed 16-channel external local shim coil array.

Methods: In vivo prostate imaging was performed in seven healthy volunteers (mean age: 40.7 years) without bowel preparation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Targeted therapy with lenvatinib is a preferred option for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma, however, predicting its efficacy remains challenging. This study aimed to build a nomogram integrating clinicoradiological indicators and radiomics features to predict the response to lenvatinib in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Methods: This study included 211 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma from two centers, who were allocated into the training (107 patients), internal test (46 patients) and external test set(58 patients).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In-line multi-wavelength non-destructive pharma quality monitoring with ultrabroadband carbon nanotubes photo-thermoelectric imaging scanners.

Light Sci Appl

September 2025

Department of Electrical, Electronic, and Communication Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University, 1-13-27 Kasuga, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 112-8551, Japan.

While non-destructive in-line monitoring at manufacturing sites is essential for safe distribution cycles of pharmaceuticals, efforts are still insufficient to develop analytical systems for detailed dynamic visualisation of foreign substances and material composition in target pills. Although spectroscopies, expected towards pharma testing, have faced technical challenges in in-line setups for bulky equipment housing, this work demonstrates compact dynamic photo-monitoring systems by selectively extracting informative irradiation-wavelengths from comprehensive optical references of target pills. This work develops a non-destructive in-line dynamic inspection system for pharma agent pills with carbon nanotube (CNT) photo-thermoelectric imagers and the associated ultrabroadband sub-terahertz (THz)-infrared (IR) multi-wavelength monitoring.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: Feeling prepared for a child's end of life (EOL) may help to alleviate parents' psychological symptoms following their child's death from cancer. However, most parents report feeling unprepared, and data on how parents define feeling prepared for their child's EOL remain limited. In this study, we explored how parents define "preparing" for a child's EOL and identified barriers and facilitators to feeling prepared.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a vital intervention for managing cardiac arrest; however, enhancing survival rates remains a significant challenge. Recent advancements highlight the importance of integrating artificial intelligence (AI) to overcome existing limitations in prediction, intervention, and post-resuscitation care.

Methods: A thorough review of contemporary literature regarding AI applications in CPR was undertaken, explicitly examining its role in the early prediction of cardiac arrest, optimization of CPR quality, and enhancement of post-arrest outcomes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF