 “Committeeing” to Calibrate
I want to congratulate your team for the “happy ending” of the story “‘Committeeing’ to Calibrate HPLC” [Feb 2001, p 42]. I experienced a similar situation eight years ago when two colleagues and I had been appointed as a new “group” to address the regulatory compliance for the quality laboratories’ equipment in a Pharmaceutical Production Plant. Our principal problem, at that time, was that all the people we asked were doing nothing to calibrate their HPLCs. However, we received some suggestions and became very inventive. After approximately one month we produced our first draft. That procedure included all your tests (with different solutions and/or calibration points) plus one additional test for the acquisition module that I suggest should be included in any HPLC calibration procedure.
As was well explained in your article, calibration order is critical because you need some modules to calibrate the others. For that reason we calibrate the integrator or A/D converter first. We use a certified peak generator to simulate a known signal in the acquisition module. During the last eight years we revised our procedure four times, but we didn’t change much. Until now our results to date have been very satisfactory. The procedure can be performed within one working day, and if all the solutions were previously prepared, a well versed instrument specialist can perform a calibration of two HPLCs at the same time. Finally, but not less important, we are in compliance with, and for the last eight years have successfully passed, all the inspections of regulatory agencies.
Lourdes I. Villanueva
Puerto Rico
I read with interest your recent article “‘Committeeing’ to Calibrate HPLC” [Feb 2001, p 42]. The article has caught my attention because it describes, almost exactly, our program here at Organon, where we have established a Continuous Performance Qualification (CPQ) of HPLC systems. While I recognized most of your procedures, I would like to thank you for giving me a few additional ideas that could be implemented here.
Noel Wilson
Laboratory Automation Group
Organon (Irl) Ltd
 Hospice Care
I find it totally incomprehensible that neither you nor any of the three physicians cited by you in the article titled “A Collusion of Silence“ [Health Perspectives, March 2001, p 51] mention a single reference to the most effective method of “facing the elephant in the room”: Hospice Care.
In 1990, the World Health Organization (WHO) defined hospice care as “the active total care of patients whose disease is not responsive to curative treatments.” WHO further stated that hospice care is focused on pain management in addition to dealing with psychological, social, and spiritual issues. Patients are supervised by a team of professionals and volunteers in a hospice facility and/or on an outpatient basis.
At present, there are about 3,000 hospices and palliative care programs in the U.S. Provided that they are eligible under strict guidelines established by the U.S. Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), people of all ages (including children) can receive in-house or outpatient medical hospice care as part of their Medicare benefits.
Peter C. Hereld
Hamden, CT
Author’s Reply:
I thank you for your note and admit that hospice care was not discussed in the article. In part, this was because it did not form a large part of the end-of-life conference at which the referenced physicians spoke. Also, hospice programs are available to everyone, but they are not an option that most people explore (perhaps due to a lack of education). Finally, the focus of the article was on the need for communication between the various parties involved in making end-of-life decisions and not necessarily on their options. I do, however, agree that hospice care is important and, based on the prompting of your note, I hope to discuss it in a future issue.
Clarifications
Thermo Finnigan was incorrectly identified as Thermo Quest in the feature article “HPLC and the Ever Popular LC/MS” (February 2001, p 77). The contact information is 355 River Oaks Parkway, San Jose, CA 95134, and the Internet address is www.thermofinnigan.com.
A misprint occurred in the Chemistry Chronicles department article “Du Pont Strikes Pay Dirt at Purity Hall” (April 2001, p 95). The polyester fibers prepared by Julian Hill melted at 100 °C, not 1000 °C.
A caption in the “Pittcon Lagniappe” photo spread (April 2001, p 54) incorrectly spelled Fisher Scientific, winner of the TCAW Readers’ Choice 2000 Award for Internet Accessibility. |
