[Evaluation of the first program of external quality control in hematology of the Spanish Hematology and Hemotherapy Association. Experience of 1 year's activity].

The External Quality Control Programme in Haematology (EQCP-H) comprises a monthly remittance of two whole-blood control samples for evaluating red cell count (RBC), white cell count (WBC), platelet count (PC), haematocrit (HT), haemoglobin rate (HB) and red cell indices (MCV, MHC, MCHC), as well as lyophilized plasma for prothrombin time (PT), partial thromboplastin time (PTT) and fibrinogen (F) determination. The participant laboratories were classified for each determination in accordance with the methods used. The evaluation was made on the basis of 1986 data, the number of participants being 230, from Public Health (54%) and private 46%) laboratories. A mean (means) or target value, along with the standard deviation (SD), was obtained for the results received in the Organising Centre for each parameter. In order to find deviation of individual results with respect to means, a deviation index (DI) was calculated with regard to the whole group and to those laboratories using the same methods. The graphic evaluation of the results was plotted on a Youden diagram. The active participation was 58.3 +/- 5.7%, ranging from 33% (PC) to 74% (RBC, HB, HT and MCV). Upon evaluating the whole programme, stress was laid on the global variation coefficient (VC%) attained for each parameter and those pertaining to the analytical systems employed, grouped in accordance with the methodological principles. Global VC% ranged between 3.6% (HB) and 31.9% (PTT), and the values corresponding to the analytical procedure used were below 4% for RBC, HB, MCV and MCHC in automatic systems and also for HB and MCV in semiautomatic systems. Although the working period of EQPC-H is too short to draw definitive conclusions on the improvement it may induce in the methodological quality, the high VC% values found for WBC, PC and manual determination of HB, along with the unacceptable values for PT, PTT and F, should be stressed.