Scheme Information Sheets
UK NEQAS for Thyroid Hormones
| Scheme Particulars | Indicative Details |
|---|---|
| Accreditation body | UKAS |
| ISO/IEC Accreditation status | ISO/IEC 17043:2023 |
| UKAS Accredited Proficiency Testing Provider No | 7860 |
| Objective of Scheme | Provides EQA coverage for Thyroid assays. The Scheme distributes a number of endogenous and manipulated specimens using different sources of TSH to fully probe the specificity and accuracy of Thyroid assays. A separate specimen is provided for Total T4 and Total T3 to allow more targetted concentrations for these assays |
| Pre-, Analytical, Post- status | Analytical |
| Number of distributions per year (nominal) | 11 |
| Specimens per distribution | 3 |
| Number of Specimens per annum | 33 |
| Frequency of distribution | Monthly |
| Scoring system | ABC |
| Material distributed | Pooled, liquid human serum with or without exogenous added analyte |
| Programme Director(s) / Organiser(s) | Finlay MacKenzie |
| Criteria for participation | All, but overseas by courier |
| Nominal sample volume (mL) | 0.5 Do not aliquot below this volume. Speak to Scheme Organiser |
| Sample presentation TACs | The Total Hormones are in a separate tube to TSH and the Free Hormones |
| Data in Chemistry on-line Dashboard | Yes |
| Analyte | Approx Range | Default Units | Target Value | B Score Limit (%) | C Score Limit (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free T3 | 1 – 18 | pmol/L | MLTM | 7.5 | 10.0 |
| Free T4 | 2 – 60 | pmol/L | MLTM | 5.0 | 10.0 |
| Total T3 | 0.4 – 6 | nmol/L | ALTM | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Total T4 | 10 – 280 | nmol/L | ALTM | 10.0 | 10.0 |
| TSH | 0 – 36 | mU/L | ALTM | 12.5 | 10.0 |
| Abbreviation | Expansion |
|---|---|
| ALTM | All Laboratory Trimmed Mean |
| GLTM | Group Laboratory Trimmed Mean – which is the Method Principle Mean |
| MLTM | Method Laboratory Trimmed Mean – usually a manufacturer system / analyser mean |
| XALTM | An external value that may be from a Reference Method System |
| OGLTM | A Method Principle Mean used as the target for all laboratories |
| OMLTM | A specific Method Mean used as a target for all laboratories |
| OMMED | A Method Median used as the target for all laboratories |
| MED | Median |
