Controllab releases 2nd interlaboratory report for SARS-CoV2 methods

Laboratories participating in the Proficiency Test for Covid-19 carried out yet another study that contributes valuable information to the diagnostics sector.

Controllab – the largest provider of Laboratory Quality Control in Brazil and Latin America – provides the second interlaboratory Proficiency Test (EP) pioneer report for the main methods of detection of SARS-CoV2.

The assessment was made based on the survey of data obtained in the second round of the EP held in June this year. Like the first report, this content is enriched with information brought by specialists in the diagnostics sector. The theme will assist both kit manufacturers and laboratories, demonstrating the relevance of quality control for decisions about systems implemented in the routine, in this period of learning and uncertainty.

This second report contemplates a greater diversity of kits and automated systems, in addition to providing detailed graphics for the molecular biology technique, separating it by methodologies (own and in house). Similar to the first round, additional items were also contemplated to allow for a larger sampling of the data, considering the Covid-19 pandemic.

In this scenario, the 252 laboratories listed on the map below participated in the second round of the EP for SARS-CoV2 carried out by Controllab in partnership with the Brazilian Society of Clinical Pathology/Laboratory Medicine (SBPC/ML). Both institutions congratulate the participants for their commitment to the performance evaluation of their systems.

Users contributed valuable information that will be useful to demonstrate to the market the performance of the analytical systems used. Identifying how the laboratories behaved against the analytical system in use is crucial, since a quality diagnosis leads to an early clinical conduct and reliable epidemiological data.

The assessment of this report must be made in its entirety, observing all the information presented (content, figures and tables), in order to have a better use and understanding of the data. “In this way, it will be possible to avoid misinterpretations, especially in relation to the performance of analytical systems in interlaboratory comparison”, says Controllab’s technical services analyst, Adriana Vieira, who contributed to the preparation of the report.

The credibility of the Controllab Proficiency Test for SARS-CoV2 was recognized this month with the accreditation of Cgcre of Inmetro to NBR ISO/IEC 17043. With this achievement, the company becomes the only one in the world accredited for Covid-19 research by the methods of Molecular Biology, Automated Immunology and Rapid Diagnostic Test (POCT) * for antibody and antigen research.