Frequency of Pre-analytical Errors in Hematology laboratory of Pasteur Hospital: 2017-2018

Aim and Background: Almost 32%–75% of all testing errors occur in the preanalytic phase, although technologic advances and quality assurance procedures have significantly reduced the number of errors. Hematologic parameters are so useful and vital in the diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of the patients diseases so, errors in the preanalytic stage create rework or additional investigation that may cause unnecessary procedures for patients and costs to the health care system. The most common reason for specimen rejection in hematology ward, is clotted blood. Strict adherence to proper technique and site selection can minimize it significantly. The aim of study was to evaluate the frequency of all types of errors in preanalytical stage of hematology ward, linking it with sampling of different parts of the hospital and shifts work. Material &method: This cross sectional Study was done in Pasteur Hospital, Bam University of medical science, between November 2017 to May 2018. All samples received in hematology laboratory during this period were included (24,208) and the frequency of preanalytical variables like clotted samples, quantity not sufficient, wrong sample, without label, wrong label, their relation to shifts work and related wards were analyzed. Results: The study included 24,208 samples and preanalytical errors, as mentioned above were identified in 286 samples. The most common error was clotted samples (53.14%) which received mainly by the emergency ward, followed by wrong label (27.52%) and without label (10.83%). The highest error rate was reported by the personals working in the evening shifts and the responsible ward was the emergency section. Conclusion: The study reveals that the emergency section has the largest share in preanalytical errors making, such as clotted and wrong label samples which were expected due to the high workload of this ward. So this emphasized the role of education of the staff to reduce the frequency of errors, for better reporting of lab results and ensuring the patient well-being.

Keywords:

clinical laboratory , preanalytical error , hematology error