Preanalytical issues identification and prevention in clinical hematology laboratory: best practice for patient safety

Abstract

Introduction: Pre-analytical variable includes sample collection, transport, handling, physiological influences and/or interference factors. As the blood collection is the first step, any error in this step will endanger the whole test results, no matter how accurately these are analyzed in the laboratory. Material and Method: In present prospective study, some common issues in blood collection and handling in hospital inpatient and outdoor patient departments of Dhiraj General Hospital (tertiary health care center in Vadodara) have been discussed by giving some expected solutions. Pre-analytics involve the patient, the physician, the resident doctor, the nursing staff, the laboratory technician, the laboratory personnel and the transport service. Result: A total of 13178 received samples, the number of preanalytical issues documented were 185 in OPD and 388 in IPD. Conclusion: All the staff is required to know about preanalytical variables, their possible sources and their effect on the test results and ultimate outcome on patient's safety. Moreover, since the resident doctors have a direct interaction with the paramedical staff, it is very important for them to understand the preanalytical variables so that they could instruct the paramedical staff accordingly.

Comparison of Incidence of Pre-Analytical Phase Errors in Opd and Ipd Samples in a Super-Specialty Hospital: A Retrospective Study

“…In the study conducted by Patel K, incidence of errors in preanalytical phase in OPD samples was 1.4% as compared to 2.05% in IPD samples. [5]. As a remedy, it was suggested to establish excellent communication and cooperation amongst all the stakeholders including the person collecting the sample and lab staff.…”