Mass Spectrometry Harmonisation: Paediatric Steroid Tales

Ronda Greaves
1) Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne Australia 2) RMIT University, Melbourne Australia

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Ronda Greaves (Presenter) Murdoch Children's Research Institute

Presenter Bio: Ronda Greaves is the Associate Professor of Clinical Biochemistry at RMIT University and Research Fellow at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Melbourne Australia. A/Prof Greaves is passionate about the: advancement of paediatric biochemical genetics; translation and harmonisation of related emerging technologies; and overall quality of laboratory testing to support appropriate clinical decisions.
Ronda has published extensively in the area, defining quality across the total testing process including the development of position papers, reference methods, reference intervals and external quality assurance programs for paediatric mass spectrometry methods. Ronda currently serves on the Clinical Mass Spectrometry Journal’s Editorial Board and is Secretary to the Emerging Technologies Division Executive Committee of the IFCC.

Relevant Financial Disclosures (within past 24 months) No relevant financial relationship(s) to disclose. Discussing Products? NO, presenter will NOT present educational content related to products/services of the ineligible company(ies) listed above. Conflict mitigation NOT REQUIRED.

Our goal in laboratory medicine is to improve patient health by using laboratory tests as our tool to support medical decisions. The change from immunoassay to mass spectrometry analysis of steroids has significantly improved the specificity, accuracy and sensitivity of many steroids frequently analysed in children. However, mass spectrometry assays are not infallible and recognised differences exist across the total testing process. There are demonstrated variations pre-analytically, analytically and post-analytically in methods and understanding what differences are critical and how results compare between laboratories is essential to close the gap between result differences between laboratories. In this presentation, we will explore the challenges and possible solutions for the harmonisation of paediatric steroid analysis by mass spectrometry to support medical decisions.