Quality assurance/quality control of foot and mouth disease solid phase competition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay--Part II. Quality control: comparison of two charting methods to monitor assay performance.

Diagnostic laboratories are increasingly required to meet stringent quality standards, and validated assays are needed to achieve formal accreditation. Validation of test methods is often considered to be finalised when the assay parameters and characteristics have been established. However, like any process, diagnostic assays are subject to random variation resulting in shifts in the mean test values. Continuous monitoring of assays using control charts will alert the interpreter of changes in performance. For this purpose, several charting methods have been developed and implemented. This paper compares the Shewhart and the exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) control charts with respect to the day to day monitoring of internal quality control samples for the foot and mouth disease solid phase competition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Both chart types are equally sensitive to shifts, but the EWMA method seems to provide the best balance between false rejection and false acceptance.