Analysis of patient results distributions to reevaluate a reference range change for calcium, after a change in assay reagents on the Roche Cobas c500 analyzer
Document Type Poster
Presented at ASCP in Tampa Florida.
Abstract
Introduction
A change in reagents for calcium (Ca) on the Roche Cobas c500 used in our laboratory analyzer took place in 2013. The previous reference range (8.5-10.5 mg/dL) was replaced with that from the manufacturer's study (8.6-10.0 mg/dL), based on correlation of results between the new and old assays. As a matter of quality assurance, we undertook a post-assay-change reevaluation of the reference range change, using a method based on that of Bhattacharya [1]. In short, the method relies on the assumption that the reference range is a normal distribution, which assumption enables this distribution to be isolated mathematically from within all-comers patient distribution data that are not normally distributed.
