Reagent Lot Comparison

The Reagent Lot Comparison module (often called a lot-to-lot comparison) checks a new reagent lot against the lot already in use before the new lot reports patient results. The same patient samples are measured on both lots, and the module judges whether the average difference between the lots is small enough that patient care would not notice the change.

A new reagent lot comes from a fresh production run and is calibrated afresh in your laboratory, so its results can sit slightly above or below those of the lot it replaces. Usually the change is too small to matter; occasionally it is not. Measuring the change on real patient samples, rather than relying on control material alone, shows how far patients' results would actually move.

When to Use This Module

• Before putting a new lot into use — compare it with the lot on the analyzer for each analyte it supports.
• After a shipment that may have been mishandled — for example one that arrived warm or was delayed in transit.
• When something looks off after a lot change — a shift in QC or in patient results is a reason to compare the two lots directly.