Multianalyte Conventional Reference Material (MacRM): A Useful Tool for Nationwide Standardization of Laboratory Measurements for Medical Care-A Model Study in Japan.

BACKGROUND: The Japanese Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (JCCLS) has developed a multianalyte conventional reference material (MacRM) for nationwide standardization of laboratory measurements. METHODS: To prepare the MacRM, pooled sera were obtained from healthy Japanese individuals. Target values of the pooled sera for 30 analytes were assigned on the basis of the measurement results of 45 certified clinical laboratories whose calibration was verified by measuring certified reference materials (CRMs) provided by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements, and JCCLS. Commutability of MacRM was assessed by comparison with results for 150 individual inpatients at Fukuoka University Chikushi Hospital. Survey samples were prepared by essentially the same method for MacRM but without target values. The survey samples were used to assess agreement among 165 laboratories that used various assay kits and platforms calibrated with the MacRM. RESULTS: The commutability of MacRM was confirmed for 30 analytes with sera from 150 individual patients. The imprecision (CV) of measurements of survey samples (high and low concentrations) among the 165 laboratories was 0.4%-10.0%. Twenty-six of 30 analytes were within the goals for interinstitutional allowable bias. An aliquot of MacRM stored frozen at -80 °C remained stable for ≥4 years. CONCLUSIONS: The MacRM was successfully applied as a calibrator to achieve nationwide standardization for 30 analytes measured by 165 laboratories that used various methods from different manufacturers.

[Team Medical Care Involving Biomedical Laboratory Scientists].

As medical care becomes'more advanced and complex, increasing importance is being attached to the im- plementation of team medical care that provides appropriate care while making use of the advances, mutually cooperating, and supplementing the high-level specializations of various branches of medicine in order to provide safe care with peace of mind. Planned team medical care is demanded in this era, and the Japanese Association of Medical Technologists is developing various projects as well as promoting the participation of biomedical laboratory scientists in team medical care. [Review].

[Histological detection of dried tiny thyroid tissue in health foods].

Two patients were diagnosed as having hyperthyroidism, and both had taken the same health food. We compared three kinds of histological methods to detect thyroid gland in this health food. The first method used cytology; the second applied the cell-block method; and the last is a modification of the cell particle (CPCB) method proposed by Ushijima. It is the third method that achieved superior results, and this enabled the morphological detection of thyroid gland. Certain kinds of health foods contain dried thyroid as a "slimming supplement", and intake of these products may damage health. Histological techniques are effective for detecting the existence of dried thyroid gland. A health food is very different from clinical specimen; therefore, we have to devise appropriate skills for examining it. Such examinations will be important in the future, because it is expected that the risks of damaging health by consuming certain kinds of health food will increase.