Abbott Features Diagnostic Solutions in Global Healthcare Environment at IFCC WorldLab Congress 2014

During the IFCC WorldLab meeting, Abbott will host three scientific workshops and feature four posters about quality control and high-sensitivity cardiac troponin.

In the global healthcare landscape, clinical laboratories play an increasingly important role in helping healthcare providers improve patient care. Demonstrating how diagnostics are critical to medicine, Abbott will showcase its offerings designed to drive efficiency and optimization at this year’s International Federation of Clinical Chemistry (IFCC) WorldLab Congress 2014, which will be held June 22-26 in Istanbul, Turkey.

“Diagnostics plays an important role in helping to improve patient care and outcomes,” says Thomas R. Stanis, Divisional Vice President, Africa, Middle East and Turkey, Diagnostics, Abbott, “Abbott is focused on providing high-quality, reliable solutions that enable laboratories to deliver faster, more accurate results where and when they are needed.”

During the IFCC WorldLab meeting, Abbott will host three scientific workshops and feature four posters about quality control and high-sensitivity cardiac troponin for the 10,000 delegates expected to attend the congress.

Abbott-Sponsored Workshops

• Monday, June 23 – 14.30-15.30 – USKUDAR 2 Hall
The Global Diabetes Epidemic and the Use of HbA1c for Diagnosis
o Presenters: Prof. Rajiv Erasmus, Executive Head, Division of Chemical Pathology, University of Stellenbosch, NHLS, Tygerberg Hospital Cape Town, South Africa; and Dr. Med. Univ. Johannes Lotz, Assistant Medical Director, Institute for Laboratory Medicine, University Hospital Mainz, Mainz, Germany

• Tuesday, June 24 – 14.30-15.30 – USKUDAR 1 Hall
Quality Control: The Ugly, the Bad, and the Good
o Presenter: Sten Westgard, Director Client Services, Westgard QC, Inc. Madison, Wisconsin, United States

• Wednesday, June 25 – 14.30-15.30 – USKUDAR 2 Hall
Multicenter/Global Reference Intervals Study for Common Biochemical Markers
o Presenters: Prof. Dr. Yesim Özarda, Professor in Biochemistry, Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Uludag University Medical Faculty, Bursa, Turkey; and Dr. Anwar Borai, Associate Clinical Scientist Clinical Chemistry, Research Scientist, Assistant Professor, KSAU-HS, King Abdul-Aziz Medical City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Posters

Abbott will present four scientific posters during the IFCC program.

1. Sigma Metrics to Assess Analytical Quality: Importance of Allowable Total Error (TEa) Target: Six Sigma metrics were used to assess the analytical quality of automated clinical chemistry tests in a large clinical laboratory and examine the impact of different allowable total error (TEa) goals on the metric. Clinical laboratories are challenged to maintain the highest analytical quality, but it’s difficult to measure quality objectively and quantitatively to compare analyzer-to-analyzer quality.

2. European Multicenter Analytical Evaluation of the ARCHITECT High Sensitive Troponin-I Immunoassay: International recommendations highlight the superior value of cardiac troponins for early diagnosis of myocardial infarction along with analytical requirements of improved precision and detectability. In this multicenter study, Abbott investigated the analytical performance of a new high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI) assay and its 99th percentile upper reference limit (URL).

3. Laboratory Evaluation of Technopath Controls on the ARCHITECT Chemistry Analyzers: Efficient analytical and quality control solution is important for testing laboratories to ensure released results meet the required quality in regard to accuracy and precision. Technopath Manufacturing Ltd. recently introduced multi-constituent controls (MCC) for use with the Abbott ARCHITECT instruments. The performance of the urine and serum chemistry controls was evaluated in comparison to the laboratory’s current quality control.

4. Laboratory Evaluation of Technopath Controls on the ARCHITECT Immunoassay Analyzers: Consolidation of quality controls simplifies workflow in the laboratory. However, changing of quality controls necessitates careful evaluation by the laboratory. The performance of the Technopath Multichem IA plus immunoassay controls was evaluated in comparison to the laboratory’s current quality control methods in three European laboratories.

Notable Abstracts

More than 1,600 abstracts were submitted to this year’s IFCC WorldLab Congress. Most notably, Abbott’s i-STAT® System – a handheld blood analyzer that performs a broad range of commonly ordered blood tests designed to help assist in diagnosing and treating many different medical conditions – is referenced in two abstracts, concluding that bedside point-of-care testing significantly reduces the length of time patients stay in emergency departments and helps clinicians provide fast and accurate treatment for hospital patients.

A complete list of Abbott’s posters, workshops and presentations can be found at www.abbottdiagnostics.com. Other materials and information will be available at Abbott’s booth (Hall B5-13), which will feature live product demonstrations, interactive lab experience, product overviews and a product presentation.