Assessing agreement between point of care and laboratory results for lipid testing from a clinical perspective

Abstract

Objectives: Investigate agreement between lipid pathology results from point-of-care testing (PoCT) devices and laboratories. Design and methods: Agreement was assessed using the Bland-Altman method. Results: Mean difference (limits of agreement) were: - 0.28 mmol/L (- 1.04, 0.48) for total cholesterol, - 0.09 mmol/L, (- 0.55, 0.36) for HDL-C. Median difference (nonparametric limits of agreement) were 0.07 mmol/L, (- 0.40, 3.04) for triglycerides. Conclusions: The clinical acceptability of the variation between lipid PoCT and laboratory test results is debatable but our work provides baseline data for further research. © 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.