8-year review of laboratory performance on blood lead level external quality assessment surveys 2006–2013 in China: continual improvement

Abstract

High blood lead level (BLL) in children may result in a variety of clinical symptoms such as low IQ, behavior disorders, nutritional deficiencies. There may be differences in reported BLL values whether laboratories use the same or a different method. Therefore, it is important to know the analytical performance of the various methods and laboratories in relation to the analytical requirements for BLL measurement. From 2006 annual or biannual BLL, external quality assessment programs were organized by the Chinese National Center for Clinical Laboratories to collect results reported by 56–471 Chinese laboratories. Data from each laboratory were collected using an internet reporting system and later analyzed according to ISO 13528. The performance of the participating laboratories was evaluated according to the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment of 1988. Tungsten atomic absorption spectrometry and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry were the two methods used most. The data reviewed clearly show that the laboratory performance improved over time since 2006. However, further monitoring of the quality of BLL measurements is required.