Difficulties in calculation that hindered the practice of the delta check in the past is now no longer a problem thanks to the development of computers. But, high false positive rates, which creates heavy burden of checking-work load, are still a problem in the practice of the delta check. We propose a new approach to the reduction of false positive rates, naming our method “the multi-item univariate delta check (MIUDC) method”. By the multi-item univariate delta check method, we mean a method in which univariate delta checks are performed on multiple items and specimens with the positive univariate delta check in at least k items receive a detailed investigation. Using data collected in the Department of Clinical Pathology at Korea University Guro Hospital via the Korea University Laboratory Information System, our research found that if we put specimens with positive univariate delta check in at least four test items (k=4) under a detailed investigation, check-out volumes will be light and efficiency will be high. As for test items deserving of more interest, total cholesterol, albumin, and total protein are appropriate because the false positive rate associated with them in the MIUDC was zero in a simulation study.
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