Jump to content

Is there such a thing as over-calibrating?


evilwarning

Recommended Posts

I work in a laboratory that does drug screening for drugs of abuse for clients that are either going through rehab or pain management. Our lab supervisor has made it a rule that we are suppose to calibrate and QC every single assay we do. Not only is that such a pain in the rear having to load all those multipoint cals but isn't there such a thing as over-calibration? But he has it set in his mind that we cannot release patient results unless we calibrate and QC every day. Is there any material out there that discusses this topic?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would think that you need to follow your manufacturer's recommendations regarding QC and calibration.  Most Labs have too much to do already, and over-doing things like QC and calibration and maintanance would be avoided.  Of course, you have to think about whatever regulatory agencies might think about a particular test also.

 

Scott

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On what kind of analyzer are you performing these tests?

 

On the Beckman AU480 chemistry analyzer.

 

 

I would think that you need to follow your manufacturer's recommendations regarding QC and calibration.  Most Labs have too much to do already, and over-doing things like QC and calibration and maintanance would be avoided.  Of course, you have to think about whatever regulatory agencies might think about a particular test also.

 

Scott

 

Most of our manufacturer's recommend calibration every 30 days. Some every 15 days. However, our supervisor does not agree with the recommendations. He won't even agree with weekly calibration. He thinks daily calibration and QC is the only thing that will be accepted by CLIA and CAP. (Which I have no idea where he is getting that from.) However he comes from a background in LC/MS, and I believe LC/MS is set up is different from the way we run things in clinical chemistry. I think the only way he will listen is if he reads material out there that discusses calibrations and how often it needs to be done in the realm of clinical chemistry.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Modern analyzers in a clinical lab have little simularity to something as specialized as what LC is used for.  It is a waste of resources (especially human!) to do things in a Lab these days that are unecessary.  But you have to do what your super says, right? 

 

I really do not think that CAP or CLIA have standards as stringent as what your super is worried about, but someone would have to check.  Would it help to find other labs that use your instrumentation and have them relate what they are doing?  You could call your vendor and ask for a list of customers.

 

Good Luck.

 

Scott

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My opinion is that for the analyzer your using it is definitely over calibration. First,  CAP and CLIA definately DO NOT require this.  Second, it is incredibly wasteful to perform all those multipoint calibrations and QC to turn out a patient result. I find it hard to believe your profiting on this testing unless your volume is very high. Third, it seems to me that calibrating that often could potentially hide imprecision in your analyzer. In other words, if there were something wrong with the analyzer that would cause the results to drift, you would not catch it since you’re constantly ajusting your curve. Fourth, and perhaps most importantly, calibration is not without its dangers. What if there was a random inaccuracy in one of the calibration tests; enough to cause a shift, but not a failure. It seems to me that you could actually make a good assay less accurate by calibrating it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Ugh it doesn't matter anyway. I do think that our department is losing money, definitely not making any profit because we are calibrating every day. However, the other department does confirmation for drug panels using LC/MS, and I believe that is where they make the bulk of their money. So their profit is probably enough to offset our losses. I doubt any of the higher ups are going to catch on to the money loss. My supervisor is just so frustrating though, he always thinks he is right. Just the other day, he told the lead tech in our department that I was not to verify/finalize results in the LIS because he didn't trust me. I haven't made any mistakes but just because I asked one simple question about the LIS, he thinks I need more training. Like 1 year plus experience as a med tech doesn't give me any certainty that I know to review results and deem them "reportable." I'm greatly offended by that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Advertisement

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.