Evaluation of Hematocrit in Adults with Dengue by a Laboratory Information System

The implementation of a laboratory information system (LIS) at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Thailand provides valuable medical resources, particularly for dengue. Hematocrit (Hct), which is often derived from hemoglobin (Hgb), is important in the diagnosis and management of dengue. This study aimed to evaluate the Hct value obtained from the LIS automated analyzer. We prospectively enrolled 163 hospitalized adults with dengue, for whom 1,141 real-time complete blood count (CBC) results were obtained via a hematology analyzer and updated in the LIS database. The median (interquartile range (IQR)) duration of analytic turnaround times (TATs) was 40.0 (30.0–53.0) minutes. Linear regression analysis indicated a significant relationship between Hgb and Hct with a coefficient of determination (Pearson’s R2) of 0.92 at red blood cell distribution width (RDW) ≤18, but Pearson’s R2 decreased to 0.78 at RDW >18. The Hct calculated from the three-fold conversion method and from the analyzer had a Pearson’s R2 of 0.92. At Hgb <12 g/dl and ≥16 g/dl, a greater difference between the two Hct values was observed, with median (IQR) differences of −0.8% (−1.9%–0.2%) and 0.8% (−0.1%–1.7%), respectively ( P value <0.05). In conclusion, the Hgb and Hct of patients with dengue were highly correlated at RDW ≤18. The Hct calculated from the three-fold conversion method and from the analyzer had an excellent relationship, except when the Hgb was <12 g/dl or ≥16 g/dl. Apart from routine CBC evaluation, the LIS could help for accurate data collection in clinical research and development.

Development and Implementation of A LIS-Based Validation System for Autoverification Toward Zero Defects in The Automated Reporting of Laboratory Test Results

BackgroundValidation of the autoverification function is the most critical step to confirm its effectiveness before use. It is crucial to verify whether the programmed algorithm follows the expected logic and produces the expected results. In recent years, this process has always been centered on the assessment of human-machine consistency and mostly takes the form of manual recording, which is a time-consuming activity with inherent subjectivity and arbitrariness, and cannot guarantee a comprehensive, timely and continuous effectiveness evaluation of the autoverification function. To overcome these inherent limitations, we independently developed and implemented a laboratory information system (LIS)-based validation system for autoverification.MethodsWe developed a correctness verification and integrity validation method (hereinafter referred to as the "new method") in the form of a human-machine dialogue. The system records the personnel’s review steps and determines if the human-machine review results are consistent. If they are inconsistent, the laboratory personnel analyze the reasons for the inconsistency according to the system prompts, add to or modify the rules, reverify, and finally improve the accuracy of autoverification.ResultsThe validation system was successfully established and implemented. For a dataset consisting of 833 rules for 30 assays, 782 rules (93.87%) were successfully verified in the correctness verification phase, and 51 rules were deleted due to execution errors. In the integrity validation phase, 24 projects were easily verified, while the other 6 projects still required the addition of new rules or changes to the rule settings. From setting the rules to the automated reportion, the time difference between manual validation and the new method, was statistically significant (χ2=11.06, p=0.0009), with the new method greatly reducing validation time. Since 2017, the new method has been used in 32 laboratories, and 15.8 million reports have been automatically reviewed and issued without a single clinical complaint.ConclusionTo the best of our knowledge, this is the first report to realize autoverification validation in the form of a human-machine interaction.The new method can effectively control the risks of autoverification, shorten time consumption, and improve the efficiency of laboratory verification.

College of American Pathologists Cancer Protocols: From Optimizing Cancer Patient Care to Facilitating Interoperable Reporting and Downstream Data Use

The College of American Pathologists Cancer Protocols have offered guidance to pathologists for standard cancer pathology reporting for more than 35 years. The adoption of computer readable versions of these protocols by electronic health record and laboratory information system (LIS) vendors has provided a mechanism for pathologists to report within their LIS workflow, in addition to enabling standardized structured data capture and reporting to downstream consumers of these data such as the cancer surveillance community. This paper reviews the history of the Cancer Protocols and electronic Cancer Checklists, outlines the current use of these critically important cancer case reporting tools, and examines future directions, including plans to help improve the integration of the Cancer Protocols into clinical, public health, research, and other workflows.

Initial study of anaemia profile for primary care centres with automated laboratory algorithms reduces the demand for ferritin, iron, transferrin, vitamin B12 and folate tests

AimTo evaluate the influence of an algorithm designed to incorporate reflex testing according to haemogram results for analytical tests ordered to investigate anaemia.MethodsIn 2020, a new request for ‘initial study of anaemia’ was created in three primary care pilot centres for suspected anaemia or new anaemias. A haemogram was ordered and the remainder of the tests were created in a reflex manner according to an algorithm integrated in the laboratory information system that also generates a comment that is completed and validated by a haematologist. The demand for tests was evaluated over three time periods.ResultsOf 396 requests, anaemia was detected in 80 (20.2%), with 26 microcytic anaemias (6.57%), 20 iron deficiency anaemias, 41 (10.3%) normocytic anaemias and 13 macrocytic anaemias (3.28%); 4 with folate deficiency; and 1 haemolytic anaemia. No haematological diseases were detected. Twenty-four (6.06%) cases exhibited microcytosis/hypochromia without anaemia, 12 of which exhibited iron deficiency. Four young women exhibiting within-limit haemoglobin levels had iron deficiency. There were 56 (14.1%) cases of macrocytosis without anaemia.With the new profile of ‘initial study of anaemia’, the demand for tests was reduced and was significantly lower than in the remainder of primary centres for iron, transferrin, ferritin, vitamin B12 and folate.ConclusionsA new profile of ‘initial study of anaemia’ in the request form with algorithms integrated in the laboratory information system enabled submission of orders and decreased the demand for unnecessary iron, transferrin, ferritin, vitamin B12 and folate tests.

Lipemic Interference in Basic Metabolic Panels: Increasing the Lipemia Index Threshold in Order to Decrease the Frequency of Ultracentrifugation

Introduction Lipemia in clinical chemistry samples is a problematic form of interference. Clearing these samples for routine testing can be time consuming and increases the turn-around time for these specimens. In our laboratory, samples with a lipemia index &gt;50 (L-index) are manually inspected and visibly lipemic specimens are cleared by ultracentrifugation. Objective The objective of this study was to determine at what L-index ultracentrifugation of lipemic BMP specimens is necessary prior to sample testing to ensure accurate results. Methods Specimens consisted of routinely ordered basic metabolic panels (BMP) that met current criteria for ultracentrifugation, which included an L-index &gt;50 as measured on the Abbott Architect c8000 and visual lipemia. Specimens meeting these criteria were ultracentrifuged and retested. The difference of the pre-ultracentrifuged and post-ultracentrifuged result was evaluated and put into a percent to find the ‘percent difference’ and evaluated against the total allowable error (TEa) for each analyte. If the difference observed following ultracentrifugation was less than or equal to 50% of the TEa, clearance of lipemia by ultracentrifugation was considered unnecessary. Values from all BMP component tests were analyzed in order to find an L-index threshold at which samples need to be ultracentrifuged which could be applied to the entire panel. The report of lipemic indices for BMPs for the month of January 2020 were extracted from the laboratory information system to evaluate the potential impact of altering the L-index threshold for ultracentrifugation. Results Based on the acceptance criteria of ≤50% of TEa, L-index thresholds for Na, K, Cl, calcium, glucose, creatinine, CO2 and BUN were &lt;203, &lt;410, &lt;287, &lt;387, &lt;410, &lt;285, &lt; 153 and &lt;285, respectively. All the calculated differences or percent differences for each analyte did not exceed 50% of the TEa for a given analyte when the L-index was 150 or less. Adjusting the L-index to 150 and applying it to the 195 lipemic BMP samples in January 2020, would have potentially decreased the number of samples requiring ultracentrifugation to 24 lipemic BMPs (88% reduction). Conclusion These data suggest that an L-index greater than 150 can be used for all analytes within a BMP as the threshold for requiring ultracentrifugation. The BMP is one of the most frequently ordered tests in our laboratory and consistently accounts for a substantial portion of the lipemic samples that require ultracentrifugation. Increasing the L-index at which samples will be ultracentrifuged from 50 to 150 would potentially result in an 88% reduction in one month of BMP samples requiring ultracentrifugation.

Inaccuracy of Sodium Measurement in Patients with Severe Hypernatremia

Introduction We observed discordant sodium results from a patient with severe hypernatremia such that whole-blood analysis produced results up to 9.6 mmol/L higher than plasma sodium obtained on the same collection. We investigated this bias by comparing other patients’ sodium results and performing comparisons of 3 blood gas and 2 chemistry analyzers. Methods First, the laboratory information system was queried for whole-blood sodium results &gt;160 mmol/L, which were used for comparison against plasma results from the same collection. Second, whole blood was collected from a healthy donor, a portion of which was spiked with sodium chloride to generate 8 samples with target concentrations of 140 to 185 mmol/L. Whole-blood sodium was measured in duplicate on the ABL90, RAPIDPoint 500, and GEM 4000. Plasma sodium was then measured in duplicate on the Architect c8000 and Cobas c702. Finally, plasma was injected on the blood gas analyzers to measure sodium in singleton. Results Overall, 53 paired results from patients showed a significant positive bias on the ABL90 relative to Vitros when sodium was &gt;160 mmol/L. The magnitude of difference was insignificant within the reference range but increased proportionately with concentration. The magnitude and pattern of positive bias in ABL90 sodium results were consistent with the observation in patient results. Conclusion In severe hypernatremia, sodium results produced by blood gas and plasma analyzers can differ significantly.