Lab Med Qual Assur.  2024 Dec;46(4):194-199. 10.15263/jlmqa.2024.46.4.194.

Annual Report on the External Quality Assessment Scheme for Clinical Parasitology in Korea (2022–2023)

• Kwon YJ
• Lee YJ
• Kim MJ
• Won EJ

• KMID: 2563490
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.15263/jlmqa.2024.46.4.194

Abstract

The Korean Association of External Quality Assessment Service conducts annual proficiency surveys 3 times a year (2022–2023). The External Quality Assessment panels included three types of samples: image samples (MPI-22-01–03; MPI-23-01–03), pre-made slide samples (MPS-22-01–03; MPS-23-01–03), and formalin-fixed samples (MPF-22-01–03; MPF-23-01–03). The overall agreement rates were 93.5% in 2022 (participant laboratory numbers: 202–209) and 97.5% in 2023 (participant laboratory numbers: 198–206). The agreement rates were significantly lower for the MPS samples compared with the MPI or MPF samples (86.6% for MPS vs. 98.9%/95.1% for MPI/MPF samples, P<0.001 in 2022; 95.1% for MPS vs. 99.0%/98.5% for MPI/MPF samples, P<0.01 in 2023). Notably, MPS-22-01, which contained Metagonimus yokogawai, exhibited the lowest agreement of 61.4%, while MPS-23-03, also containing M. yokogawai, showed a higher agreement of 93.7%. This underscores the educational value of external quality assessment. Based on our expanded survey of clinical parasitology, continuous education on various parasitic infections is essential to address any experience gap in the inspection of clinical laboratories.

Keyword

Quality control; Parasitology; Formalin-fixed specimen