Manual Cell Count QC

[mdcart]

There is some debate within our lab on how manual cell count qc should be performed. According to JACHO, qc should be performed in duplicate every 8 hrs per individual tech. The debate comes in, when the patient requires a manual diff on the cell count. Some interpret the regs as that we should perform qc on the cell count and qc of the diff portion, others interpret it as performing qc and documenting the cell count only. Wanting to know what everyone else interprets it as, and what you do in your labs.

Thanks

[Auntie-D]

Surely this is what external QA is for? I don't see what purpose QCing the person does - competency testing and adequate QA performance should be sufficient.

[SMILLER]

For various body fluid cell counts (not manual diffs on CBCs) we used to do the "counts within 10% of two sides of a hemocytometer rule". But recently we have been buying a commercial control (it even has Ca pyrophosphate and Uric Acid crystals in it!). With that, the rule is that if a tech does a manual count, he has to have run one control within 8 hours.