IMPACT OF ANALYTICAL ERROR IN AN ESTIMATION OF LIVER ENZYMES

Abstract

Backgrounds: Laboratory professionals should produce accurate, sensitive and specific information using new age technologies to guide clinical decision making. It is the role of laboratory professionals to inform physicians about which tests have the highest effectiveness in given clinical conditions. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the analytical errors of liver enzymes, and also the AST, ALT and ALP levels are a valuable aid primarily in the diagnosis of liver disease. Methodology: cross sectioned study was conducted during the period of the November to April 2013, to measure the accuracy and precision of laboratories by estimation of AST, ALT and ALP in normal and pathological control sera in 10 clinical laboratories in Khartoum state, Sudan. The percentage were used to assess the laboratories quality management requirement of each selected laboratories. Results: The study showed that10% of total laboratories give excellent level for normal and pathological control materials of AST, ALT and ALP while 60% of total laboratory gives poor level for normal and 50% for pathological for AST, 70% of total laboratory gives poor level for normal and 60% for pathological for ALT and 90% of total laboratory gives poor level for normal and70%for pathological for ALP. Conclusions: In spite of all these laboratory have Implementation of quality control procedures, Documentation and interpretation of control material results, and the instrument used to estimate liver enzymes is automated machine and calibration was done daily by senior staff, there is a variation between AST, ALT and ALP analytical results among the normal and pathological level due to technical problems such as inappropriate sample handling, failure to calibrate pipettes. Based on this result we conclude that the absence of total quality management especially the adopted quality requirement for clinical chemistry laboratories lead to gap of implementation and weak laboratory performance.