Uncertainty in measurement and total error – are they so incompatible?
-
Ian Farrance
,
Tony Badrick
Abstract
There appears to be a growing debate with regard to the use of “Westgard style” total error and “GUM style” uncertainty in measurement. Some may argue that the two approaches are irreconcilable. The recent appearance of an article “Quality goals at the crossroads: growing, going, or gone” on the well-regarded Westgard Internet site requires some comment. In particular, a number of assertions which relate to ISO 15189 and uncertainty in measurement appear misleading. An alternate view of the key issues raised by Westergard may serve to guide and enlighten others who may accept such statements at face value.
Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.
Research funding: None declared.
Employment or leadership: None declared.
Honorarium: None declared.
Declaration of conflicting interests: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.
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©2016 by De Gruyter
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorials
- Laboratory analytical quality – the process continues
- Measurement uncertainty – a revised understanding of its calculation and use
- Review
- Substrate-zymography: a still worthwhile method for gelatinases analysis in biological samples
- Opinion Papers
- Is the combination of trueness and precision in one expression meaningful? On the use of total error and uncertainty in clinical chemistry
- The problem with total error models in establishing performance specifications and a simple remedy
- Measurement uncertainty for clinical laboratories – a revision of the concept
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- Comparison of the clinical utility of the Elia CTD Screen to indirect immunofluorescence on Hep-2 cells
- Reference Values and Biological Variations
- Sex-related differences in the association of ghrelin levels with obesity in adolescents
- Gestation specific reference intervals for thyroid function tests in pregnancy
- Cancer Diagnostics
- SOX17 promoter methylation in plasma circulating tumor DNA of patients with non-small cell lung cancer
- Dopamine concentration in blood platelets is elevated in patients with head and neck paragangliomas
- Letters to the Editor
- Cancer dynamics and the success of cancer screening programs
- Mother’s instinct – a rare case of multiple test interferences due to heterophile antibodies
- Sigma metric or defects per million opportunities (DPMO): the performance of clinical laboratories should be evaluated by the Sigma metrics at decimal level with DPMOs
- A national survey of preanalytical handling of oral glucose tolerance tests in pregnancy
- Updating pregnancy diabetes guidelines: is (y)our laboratory ready?
- Low serum bilirubin values are associated with pulmonary embolism in a case-control study
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- Earlier detection of sepsis by Candida parapsilosis using three-dimensional cytographic anomalies on the Mindray BC-6800 hematological analyzer
- Theranos phenomenon – part 4: Theranos at an International Conference
