Each April, The Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science (CSMLS) recognizes the critical role of medical laboratory professionals in the health care system.

On International Women’s Day, IQMH celebrates the achievements of women in health care. Millions of laboratory tests are performed each day that help with the diagnosis and treatment of health issues affecting Canadians. Many of these tests are conducted by women in the laboratory.

IQMH Proficiency Testing is proud to share this article prepared and authored by Tamara Ashfield, Elizabeth McCready, Mary Shago, Hong Wang, Elizabeth Sinclair‐Bourque, Eva Cappa, Amanda Piche Marolt, Kathy Chun

Practice patterns of prenatal and perinatal testing in Canadian cytogenetics laboratories

ABSTRACT

Objective

To survey patterns of practice in Canadian cytogenetics laboratories and evaluate whether newer technologies have influenced testing algorithms for the detection of common aneuploidies and other genomic imbalances in the prenatal and perinatal settings.

IQMH Proficiency Testing is thrilled to share this article prepared and authored by: Angela C. Rutledge (lead author), Anna Johnston, Dana Bailey, Ronald A. Booth Pamela Edmond, Victor Leung, Kika Veljkovic

Survey of renin and aldosterone testing practices by Ontario laboratories – Providing insight into best practices

ABSTRACT

Objectives

Testing for renin and aldosterone in clinical laboratories is complicated by pre-analytical considerations such as the posture for blood collection and susceptibility to cryoactivation of renin. From an analytical perspective, there are both renin activity and renin mass or concentration assays available. There can also be variability in result reporting practices and the aldosterone-renin ratio (ARR) cut-off applied to screen for primary aldosteronism (PA). The Institute for Quality Management in Healthcare (IQMH) Centre for Proficiency Testing surveyed laboratories on their handling of renin and aldosterone testing to better understand current practices.