PMID- 34975251
OWN - NLM
STAT- PubMed-not-MEDLINE
LR  - 20240405
IS  - 0974-2727 (Print)
IS  - 0974-7826 (Electronic)
IS  - 0974-2727 (Linking)
VI  - 13
IP  - 4
DP  - 2021 Dec
TI  - Sigma Metrics: A Valuable Tool for Evaluating the Performance of Internal Quality 
      Control in Laboratory.
PG  - 328-331
LID - 10.1055/s-0041-1731145 [doi]
AB  - Background Six Sigma is a widely accepted quality management system that provides 
      an objective assessment of analytical methods and instrumentation. Six Sigma 
      scale typically runs from 0 to 6, with sigma value above 6 being considered 
      adequate and 3 sigma being considered the minimal acceptable performance for a 
      process. Methodology Sigma metrics of 10 biochemistry parameters, namely glucose, 
      triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), albumin, direct bilirubin, alanine 
      transaminase, aspartate transaminase, urea nitrogen, creatinine and uric acid, 
      and hematology parameters such as hemoglobin (Hb), total leucocyte count (TLC), 
      packed cell volume (PCV), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular 
      hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), and platelet 
      were calculated by analyzing internal quality control (IQC) data of 3 months 
      (June-August 2019). Results Sigma value was found to be > 6 for triglyceride, 
      HDL, Hb, TLC, and MCH, signifying excellent results and no further modification 
      with respect to IQC. Sigma value was between 3 and 6 for glucose, albumin, 
      creatinine, uric acid, PCV, and MCHC, implying the requirement of improvement in 
      quality control (QC) processes. Sigma value of < 3 was seen in AST, ALT, direct 
      bilirubin, urea nitrogen, platelet, and MCV, signifying suboptimal performance. 
      Discussion Six Sigma provides a more quantitative framework for evaluating 
      process performance with evidence for process improvement and describes how many 
      sigmas fit within the tolerance limits. Thus, for parameters with sigma value < 
      3, duplicate testing of the sample along with three QCs three times a day may be 
      used along with stringent Westgard rules for rejecting a run. Conclusion Sigma 
      metrics help assess analytical methodologies and augment laboratory performance.
CI  - The Indian Association of Laboratory Physicians. This is an open access article 
      published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons 
      Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and 
      reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents 
      may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or 
      built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
FAU - Kashyap, Akriti
AU  - Kashyap A
AD  - Department of Laboratory Medicine, Air Force Command Hospital, Bengaluru, 
      Karnataka, India.
FAU - Sampath, Sangeetha
AU  - Sampath S
AD  - Department of Laboratory Medicine, Air Force Command Hospital, Bengaluru, 
      Karnataka, India.
FAU - Tripathi, Preeti
AU  - Tripathi P
AD  - Department of Laboratory Medicine, Air Force Command Hospital, Bengaluru, 
      Karnataka, India.
FAU - Sen, Arijit
AU  - Sen A
AD  - Department of Laboratory Medicine, Air Force Command Hospital, Bengaluru, 
      Karnataka, India.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
DEP - 20210628
PL  - Germany
TA  - J Lab Physicians
JT  - Journal of laboratory physicians
JID - 101551511
PMC - PMC8714305
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - Sigma
OT  - biochemistry
OT  - hematology
OT  - quality
COIS- Conflict of Interest None declared.
EDAT- 2022/01/04 06:00
MHDA- 2022/01/04 06:01
PMCR- 2021/06/01
CRDT- 2022/01/03 05:34
PHST- 2022/01/03 05:34 [entrez]
PHST- 2022/01/04 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2022/01/04 06:01 [medline]
PHST- 2021/06/01 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - JLP2060221 [pii]
AID - 10.1055/s-0041-1731145 [doi]
PST - epublish
SO  - J Lab Physicians. 2021 Jun 28;13(4):328-331. doi: 10.1055/s-0041-1731145. 
      eCollection 2021 Dec.