Zubair Hasan, Kumaran C.
ABSTRACT
Background: Laboratory services are the backbone of the modern health care sector. In spite of rapid advances in laboratory science, it is still susceptible to various manual and systemic errors.
Materials and Methods: The study was carried out on one thousand seven hundred consecutive venous samples received in January 2015 ,of which 1211 were outpatient and 489 were inpatient samples. The following categories of preanalytical errors were noted in the study.
1. Misidentification ( Incorrectly labelled vials or incorrectly filled forms)
2. Incorrect samples ( wrong choice of vials)
3. Clotted samples
4. Inadequate sample
5. Diluted samples
6. Hemolysed samples
7. Lipemic sample
Results: Preanlaytical errors were detected in 68 samples (4%). The most common preanalytical error was hemolysed sample (36%) followed by lipemic sample. The errors were more common in inpatient samples collected by staff nurse when compared to outpatient samples.
Conclusion: The preanalytical phase is a good contributor to laboratory error. In our study we demonstrated that the frequency of analytical errors in our laboratory routine (4%) is in accordance with the international scientific literature. Systematic documentation of frequency and type of lab errors should be done in every laboratory and corrective measures should be taken appropriately.
Keywords: Preanalytical, Laboratory errors, quality