External quality assessment of urine analysis in Europe - Results of a round table discussion during the Symposium 'From Uroscopy to Molecular Analysis', Seeon, Germany, September 18-20, 1999

Interlaboratory surveys on urine quantities have only recently been introdu ced in several European countries. Representatives of 10 European countries exchanged their experiences during an international urinalysis meeting hel d in September 1999. Although still not mandatory in most areas, mole than 5000 laboratories participated in external quality assessment programs in t he countries represented. Qualitative (test strips and microscopic morpholo gy) as well as quantitative chemical and immunochemical quantities were inc luded. The maximal allowable deviations are reported as well as methods use d to determine target values. Consensus scales up to reference methods were applied. The participants agreed that quality criteria need to be defined separate from those already existing for plasma/serum analytes. Besides hig her biological variables and different medical needs, less standardisation of methods to quantify urine constituents was observed as a major cause of higher interlaboratory differences. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All righ ts reserved.