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It is interesting, as an alien, to follow the concerns about the reputation of laboratory medicine in the UK and notice that the IFCC prepares a survey of trivial actions in the laboratories to handle samples and staff during the present crises. Nothing is even close to solving the question "To test or not to test" has been brought up -yet Here are some urgent questions which need to be solved, not least to allow feeding rational facts to politicians and populistic influencers: Ø the pre-analytical phase must be specified. It is not enough to be successful in touching a suitable location, the pin and the extraction and the timing are crucial. PCR, when, IgM, when, IgG when? Ø reference intervals or therapeutic concentrations/activities must be established Ø the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity must be established and linked to where in the disease the test is carried out and which reference intervals could be recommended Ø this leads to the question which population groups are worth-while to test. Obviously, results may make more harm than good if not properly aligned with the performance of the test Ø analytical specificity, detectability, transferability and traceability are crucial. It is known that some RNA sequences used in the past could come from harmless corona virus as well as common cold virus and more. Cross-reactivity with antibody epitopes of other specificity has been reported. How much can we accept? Ø control material must be made available and a working quality and control system designed Ø will linear flow technique be sufficient in POCT or are quantitative method necessary? Ø Possible action of neutralizing antibodies must be clarified and methods developed to identify useful plasma on a large scale Ø can causality between testing and the spreading of the disease be demonstrated? Enjooy the week-end - we are soon there Anders Kallner, MD, PhD quaranteed Assoc Prof (R) Karolinska University Hospital SE 176 71 Stockholm, SWEDEN Phone: +46 8 51774943 [log in to unmask] När du skickar e-post till Karolinska Institutet (KI) innebär detta att KI kommer att behandla dina personuppgifter. Här finns information om hur KI behandlar personuppgifter<https://ki.se/medarbetare/integritetsskyddspolicy>. Sending email to Karolinska Institutet (KI) will result in KI processing your personal data. You can read more about KI's processing of personal data here<https://ki.se/en/staff/data-protection-policy>. ------ACB discussion List Information-------- This is an open discussion list for the academic and clinical community working in clinical biochemistry. Please note, archived messages are public and can be viewed via the internet. Views expressed are those of the individual who posts and they are solely responsible for all message content. The ACB does not monitor posts. ACB Web Site http://www.acb.org.uk Green Laboratories Work http://www.laboratorymedicine.nhs.uk List Archives http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/ACB-CLIN-CHEM-GEN.html List Instructions (How to leave etc.) http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/