Thrombopoietin external quality assessment – laboratory results and method precision

The aim of the study was to investigate the measurement quality of medical laboratories with regard to thrombopoietin (TPO) determinations within the framework of an external quality assessment (EQA) scheme. Since the results of the past EQA runs since the introduction of the TPO EQA in 2017 were not entirely conclusive, due to the consistently low number of participants, a much more detailed investigation was carried out in this study design with a higher number of samples.

A total of six laboratories took part in the EQA and were asked to generate two pooled serum samples. The total of 12 different samples were then distributed to the participating laboratories and measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) at least in duplicates.

At the time of submission, data collection and analysis are still ongoing. Preliminary results indicate variability in the measurements between participating laboratories. The average deviation from the mean value of the calculated TPO concentrations in the samples so far is 31.0 ± 11.2 % (n = 4). The average intra-assay variation based on the previous results of the multiple measurements of the optical density values is 6.1 ± 5.0 %. Final results and detailed analysis will be available at the time of the congress presentation.

This study emphasizes the importance of EQA, especially in the context of TPO determinations. The observed variations emphasize the need for continuous objective evaluation of measurement quality to ensure reliable TPO test results and patient safety. Further investigations into the causes of the variations and the implementation of corrective interventions are currently ongoing and will be presented at the congress.

There is no conflict of interest.