Study of Preanalytical errors in hematology laboratory of a tertiary care hospital

Abstract

Laboratories play an important role in the diagnosis and management of the disease. Errors are part and parcel of human nature. Its human tendency to make errors. Automation in laboratories has reduced the number of errors but still few errors do occur. Present study was undertaken to evaluate different types & frequencies of pre-analytical errors in hematology laboratory of a tertiary care hospital. Methods: Present study is a prospective study. All the samples received in hematology laboratory of our hospital over a period of one year (July2015-June2016) were included in the study. All the Preanalytical variables such as clotted samples, quantity not sufficient, wrong sample, sample without label, wrong label were noted & studied. Results: In the present study total 1, 21,470 samples were received in hematological laboratory over a period of one year. Preanalytical errors were noted in 1,218 samples. Clotted sample was noted in 573 cases, inadequate quantity in 213 cases, hemolyzed sample in 176 cases, improper requisition form in 114 cases, improper container in 92 cases & diluted sample in 50 cases. Conclusion: Regular check on the complete process in laboratory along with training of staff can help in reducing the Preanalytical errors in hematological laboratory. Educating the staff about the source of errors and measures to reduce them can be of great help in proper functioning of the laboratories.