Identification of the Types of Pre-analytical Errors in the Clinical Chemistry Laboratory from Jan-2012 to Dec-2012 at Jinnah Hospital, Pathology Department

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the leading causes of pre-analytical errors in a clinical chemistry laboratory. Methods: A retrospective analysis of the results obtained from the clinical chemistry laboratory for errors in the pre-analytical phase has been carried out to summarize data regarding the frequency of the main factors affecting the pre-analytical quality of results. Laboratory personnel were asked to register rejections, and causes for rejection of ward as well as out-patient samples collected inthe laboratory. Results: Of the 1,54,554 tubes received during the data collection period, 2505 samples were found unsuitable for further processing. This accounted for 1.52% of all samples collected in the laboratory. Rejections arose as a result of the following reasons: 0.48 % were rejected due to hemolysis; 0.92 % were specimens without proper requisition slips; and 0.14 % had insufficient sample quantity. Conclusion: Of all the samples received in the lab, the overall percentage of rejection is 1.62%.