• Carmen Ricós, Virtudes Alvarez, Fernando Cava, José Vicene García-Lario, Amparo Hernández, Carlos Víctor Jiménez, Joana Minchinela, Carmen Perich, and Margarita Simón.
• Analytical Quality Commission, Spanish Society of Clinical Biochemistry And Molecular Pathology, Spain. cricos@hg.vhebron.es
• Clin. Chim. Acta. 2004 Aug 2; 346 (1): 13-8.

Background[corrected] Data on within- and between-subject biological variation are available for around 250 analytes commonly used in medical laboratories.MethodsIntegration of this data into the quality system occurs at all three levels of laboratory activity: (a) Preanalytic process: biological variation provides the basis for selecting the most appropriate specimen for analysis, for defining sample stability and for deciding suitable timing between samplings; (b) analytic process: biological variation-derived goals are fundamental for designing internal quality control procedures, and for evaluating laboratory performance; and (c) postanalytic process: delta checks based on within-subject biological variation values are used for validating results and for interpreting serial results from a patient.ConclusionThe biological variation is a pillar for managing quality in laboratory medicine.

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