J Lab Med Qual Assur.  2008 Jun;30(1):13-27.

Annual Report on External Quality Assessment of Clinical Microbiology Laboratory in Korea (2007)

Affiliations
  • 1Clinical Microbiology Subcommittee, The Korean Association of Quality Assurance for Clinical Laboratory, Seoul, Korea. micro.lee@samsung.com

Abstract

Two trials of external quality assessment for clinical microbiology laboratories were performed in 2007. A total of 14 specimens were distributed. Six specimens were distributed to 317 laboratories with 305 (96.2%) returns in Trial I, and 8 specimens to 320 laboratories with 309 returns (96.5%) in Trial II. For the first time, two slide specimens for mycobacterium stain (AFB) were distributed in Trial II. The acceptable percentages of Gram stain were relatively good for both stainability and morphology. The acceptable percentages of bacterial identification (correct answers to species level) on Streptococcus pyogenes, Branhamella catarrhalis, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, Aeromonas hydrophilia and Yersinia enterocolitica (Trial I) were 83.5%, 70.8%, 98.1%, 87.0%, 89.2%, and 97.0%, respectively. The acceptable percentages of bacterial identification on Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida tropicalis, Listeria monocytogenes, Enterococcus casseliflavus and Klebsiella pneumoniae (Trial II) were 98.1%, 97.7%, 71.6%, 77.4%, 72.4% and 96.2%, respectively. The acceptable percentages for antimicrobial susceptibility tests on E. coli and E. faecalis (Trial I), and S. aureus and P. aeruginosa (Trial II) were relatively good compared to data of recent three years. The acceptable percentages for AFB stain in Trial II were relatively high. In summary, the acceptable percentages of bacterial stain and identification were relatively good. However, it is still necessary that the quality assurance of the individual laboratories should be improved for antimicrobial susceptibility tests, and the selection of the most appropriate antimicrobial agents to test should be also considered.

Keyword

External quality assessment; Clinical microbiology

MeSH Terms

Aeromonas
Candida tropicalis
Enterococcus
Enterococcus faecalis
Escherichia coli
Klebsiella pneumoniae
Korea
Listeria monocytogenes
Moraxella (Branhamella) catarrhalis
Mycobacterium
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Staphylococcus aureus
Streptococcus pyogenes
Yersinia enterocolitica
Full Text Links
  • JLMQA
Actions
Cited
CITED
export Copy
Close
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
Similar articles
Copyright © 2024 by Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors. All rights reserved.     E-mail: koreamed@kamje.or.kr