A comprehensive and reliable program for quality control of blood gas/pH analysis is necessary in any laboratory to ensure proper use of quality-control materials and accurate analysis. The four main control materials in current use are buffers, gases, tonometered liquids, and assayed liquids, each having its own advantages and dis-advantages. Those responsible for laboratories should determine the type of control material that best fits their needs and establish basic control target values and performance characteristics for their blood analyzers and selected control material. In the determination of control target values and prediction of baseline instrument performance, each level of control material for each analyte (pH, PCO2, PO2) should be analyzed at least twenty times over a period of time, and the mean, standard deviation, and coefficient of variation should be calculated. "Out-of-control" data can be detected by comparison with the calculated control target values, and proper trou-bleshooting measures can be instituted. An independent, noncommercial proficiency-testing program should also be part of a blood analysis laboratory's quality-control program.
Robert F. Moran (Mon,) studied this question.