BACKGROUND: Hemolysis, icterus, and lipemia (HIL) cause preanalytical interference and vary unpredictably with different analytical equipments and measurement methods. We developed an integrated reporting system for verifying HIL status in order to identify the extent of interference by HIL on clinical chemistry results. METHODS: HIL interference data from 30 chemical analytes were provided by the manufacturers and were used to generate a table of clinically relevant interference values that indicated the extent of bias at specific index values (alert index values). The HIL results generated by the Vista 1500 system (Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, USA), Advia 2400 system (Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics), and Modular DPE system (Roche Diagnostics, Switzerland) were analyzed and displayed on physicians' personal computers. RESULTS: Analytes 11 and 29 among the 30 chemical analytes were affected by interference due to hemolysis, when measured using the Vista and Modular systems, respectively. The hemolysis alert indices for the Vista and Modular systems were 0.1-25.8% and 0.1-64.7%, respectively. The alert indices for icterus and lipemia were <1.4% and 0.7% in the Vista system and 0.7% and 1.0% in the Modular system, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The HIL alert index values for chemical analytes varied depending on the chemistry analyzer. This integrated HIL reporting system provides an effective screening tool for verifying specimen quality with regard to HIL and simplifies the laboratory workflow.
Blood Chemical Analysis/instrumentation/*methods/standards ; Female ; Hemoglobins/analysis ; *Hemolysis ; Humans ; Hyperlipidemias/metabolism/*pathology ; Jaundice/metabolism/*pathology ; Male ; Quality Control ; Reproducibility of Results

Malaria, one of the compulsory notifiable diseases, has been diappeared from Korea based on that fact no notification on malaria case was received from local health agencies during the last decade or so. Recently, Indigenous malaria has been re-emerged since 1993 and 549 cases was notificated till 1996. We conducted a surveillance system on the resurgent malaria outbreaks in the northern area of Kyonggi Province around the Imjin River. Malaria Surveillance Networks(MSNs) were established in Paju and Yoncheon between August 1996 and December 1996. When a febrile patient visits a clinic or a hospital, clinician takes a blood sample and refer to district malaria laboratory for the sample. The blood sample is examined in the malaria laboratory(public health center), and if malaria parasites are found, a radical or curative treatment is offered to patients. MSNs took 94 febrile cases and identified 23 malaria cases(24.5%). All malaria cases were infected by the indigenous vivax malaria. In Paju, 14 of 62 febrile cases(22.6%) were malaria outbreaks and 9 of 32 febrile cases(28.1%) in Yoncheon. In Korea resurgent malaria, malaria surveillance system should be operated for a program based on the district public health center with the coupled laboratory and dispensary.
Disease Outbreaks ; Gyeonggi-do ; Humans ; Korea* ; Malaria* ; Malaria, Vivax ; Parasites ; Public Health ; Rivers