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Decreased variability in the site-specific results during participation in the External Quality Assurance Program Oversight Laboratory (EQAPOL) proficiency program for IFN-gamma enzyme-linked immunospot (IFN-γ ELISpot) assay.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Hargarten, PM; Porth, CG; Berrong, M; Weed, D; Carper, M; Denny, TN; Ferrari, G; Rountree, W
Published in: Journal of immunological methods
November 2024

The NIAID DAIDS-sponsored External Quality Assurance Program Oversight Laboratory (EQAPOL) manages an interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISpot) external proficiency program. The ELISpot program evaluates the accuracy and variability of results across laboratories. The variability in the program is quantified via the dispersion, which is the ratio of the variance over the mean of the background-corrected spot-forming cells (SFC) replicates obtained under stimulation with different peptide pools (CMV, CEF). This report includes the longitudinal analysis of the ELISpot program cohort composed of 22 laboratories from 2011 to 2022 to assess whether the within-lab variability has improved over time. Random intercept models of the dispersion over time showed a significant decrease in overall dispersion from an average of approximately 1.8 in 2011 to approximately 1.25 in 2022. Out of the 21 sites, 16 sites (4 being statistically significant) had a negative trend for dispersion over time. Our finding of a reduction of overall within-lab variability demonstrates the need for and benefit of proficiency testing programs.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Journal of immunological methods

DOI

EISSN

1872-7905

ISSN

0022-1759

Publication Date

November 2024

Volume

534

Start / End Page

113770

Related Subject Headings

  • United States
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Quality Control
  • Quality Assurance, Health Care
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Laboratory Proficiency Testing
  • Laboratories
  • Interferon-gamma
  • Immunology
  • Humans
 

Citation

APA
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ICMJE
MLA
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Hargarten, P. M., Porth, C. G., Berrong, M., Weed, D., Carper, M., Denny, T. N., … Rountree, W. (2024). Decreased variability in the site-specific results during participation in the External Quality Assurance Program Oversight Laboratory (EQAPOL) proficiency program for IFN-gamma enzyme-linked immunospot (IFN-γ ELISpot) assay. Journal of Immunological Methods, 534, 113770. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jim.2024.113770
Hargarten, Paul M., Cassandra G. Porth, Mark Berrong, Darin Weed, Miranda Carper, Thomas N. Denny, Guido Ferrari, and Wes Rountree. “Decreased variability in the site-specific results during participation in the External Quality Assurance Program Oversight Laboratory (EQAPOL) proficiency program for IFN-gamma enzyme-linked immunospot (IFN-γ ELISpot) assay.Journal of Immunological Methods 534 (November 2024): 113770. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jim.2024.113770.
Journal cover image

Published In

Journal of immunological methods

DOI

EISSN

1872-7905

ISSN

0022-1759

Publication Date

November 2024

Volume

534

Start / End Page

113770

Related Subject Headings

  • United States
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Quality Control
  • Quality Assurance, Health Care
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Laboratory Proficiency Testing
  • Laboratories
  • Interferon-gamma
  • Immunology
  • Humans