Evaluation of the 10th External Quality Assessment Scheme results in clinical microbiology laboratories in Tehran and districts.

We evaluated the performance of microbiology laboratories in the 10th run of the external quality assessment scheme (EQAS) in Tehran and districts. Each laboratory was sent 2 species of bacteria for identification. Of the 487 laboratories that participated, 437 returned their findings. While 77.0% and 69.9% correctly identified Staphylococcus saprophyticus and Citrobacter freundii respectively, only 29.8% correctly identified Acinetobacter baumanii, 25.3% identified Enterococcus faecalis and 35.6% identified Enterobacter agglomerans. However 78.7% and 79.5% of the laboratories reported correct -results for susceptibility testing for S. saprophyticus and C. freundii respectively.