Performance of Portuguese laboratories in Labquality/PNAEQ EQA schemes for N. gonorrhoeae and C. trachomatis nucleic acid detection

Correia, Helena; Pelanti, Jonna; Silva, Rita; Brito, Cristina; Faria, Ana Paula

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.18/1910

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The National External Quality Assessment Program (PNAEQ) includes the National Health Institute Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA, IP), which is legally responsible for the promotion, organization and coordination of External Quality Assessment Laboratory programs. PNAEQ has been collaborating with the Finnish peer Labquality, since 2000. In 2013 a Consortium between the two entities was signed, seeking closer working relationships, and the promotion of research and development in the area of external quality assessment. The participation of laboratories in interlaboratory EQA schemes not only facilitates diagnosis, therapeutic monitorization, and quality assessment and guidance, but it also improves performance and increases the laboratory quality level, which will directly benefit the patient. Proficiency testing programs play a key role in the evaluation of clinical laboratories and of manufactured tests but, in the case of molecular biology testing, it is yet complicated to evaluate EQAS programs. The Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae nucleic acid detection EQA schemes were chosen for the evaluation of the performance of the Portuguese laboratories in the field of molecular biology. C. trachomatis and N. gonorrhoeae are responsible for urogenital infections causing cervicitis in women and urethritis in both men and women. Infections are mainly asymptomatic (~40% of men and ~70% of women for C. trachomatis, and ~10% of men and ~60% of women for N. gonorrhoeae). Therefore, most cases remain undetected and untreated, and can progress to serious complications, especially in women, such as pelvic inflammatory disease, tubal infertility and ectopic pregnancy, justifying the need for using very sensitive molecular biology methods for their screening and diagnosis.