Quantitative results

Results

Follow these rules when entering results:

• Respect pre-printed measurement units. If you routinely use other units, you must convert your results to the units used in EQA.
• Cibule resolves any negative number as "result not specified" and converts it to -1. When you begin to enter the results all fields contain -1 (i.e. result not specified).
• Report the results using 3 significant figures.
• You can use comma or point as a decimal separator.

Cibule checks the results after submitting the form. If the result is unexpected (e.g. you enter the concentration of Na in serum 12 mmol/L), Cibule warns you, but accepts the result. Any correction of the result must be made by the participant.

If you cannot specify the result (e.g. breakage of the sample), enter -1.

If the result lies outside the measuring range of your measuring system (i.e. the system is unable to output the result), follow these steps:

• If the result is below the limit of quantification (LoQ), enter the LoQ as a result and specify in the note to the round in which test and sample this situation occurred.
• If the result is above the upper limit of the measuring range, do not dilute the sample and enter the upper limit of the measuring range as a result and specify in the note to the round in which test and sample this situation occurred.

Reporting the results at the time of the transitional concurrence of two modifications of reagents of one manufacturer to measure the same analyte

If you have the information from the manufacturer of the kit that the process of kit replacement is currently running (new generation, reassignation, restandardisation, recalibration, etc.) and thus in the time of the EQA round there are in laboratories currently used various modifications the kit that can provide different results, specify in the note to the round what modification of the kit you used for obtaining results of specific test (briefly as a free-text in the format: test, kit manufacturer, and the description of the kit modification).

Uncertainties

In some tests you can enter also uncertainties of individual results. Follow these rules when entering results:

• Specify expanded (k = 2) combined uncertainties (U_c) reported in %.
• Cibule does not accept the uncertainty equal to zero.
• Report the uncertainties using 2 significant figures (more digits are not meaningful).
• Number -1 means "uncertainty not specified".