European Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine

Objectives: Sigma metrics is a emerging tool in internal quality assurance and it helps in determining accuracy and precision. It is not new to quality assurancebut its applicability in hematology laboratory is still in its developing stages. The study aimed to theutility of sigma metrics as an additional toolin the Haematology laboratory against the current quality tools of Internal Quality assurance. Methods: In the present study, IQC data was analysed from January 2022 to November 2022. Control material included second-party controls. Sigma was calculated for five key haematological parameters run in HORIBA PENTRA ES60. Sigma metrics were calculated using the formula Sigma = (TEa – Bias) / CV(coefficient of variation) .TEa(Total allowable error) was taken from CLIA(Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments) haematology guidelines. Bias was calculated using the formula Bias = [(ourlaboratorymean–target mean)/targetmean] ×100. Results: Average sigma metrics achieved for parameters were, RBC: 3.95, HB: 7.06, HCT 3.67, PLT: 5.42, and WBC: 7.1. The laboratory has achieved marginal to world-class performance in all analytes. Conclusion: Labs must use six sigma to design their IQC protocols, for individual parameters. This would help to achieve better quality in the haematology laboratory.