Assessment of the Pre- analytical phase in the clinical Laboratory at Tripoli University Hospital

Özet

The pre-analytical stage is the commonest source of laboratory errors. Errors in this stage can lead to a misdiagnosis, mismanagement, and represent serious harm to patients. Clinical laboratories use many different methods to reduce errors and improve quality, including assessment of pre-analytical phase errors that would result in improved quality of health care services. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of pre-analytical phase errors in a clinical laboratory at Tripoli University Hospital, Libya. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from March to May 2021 at the clinical laboratory of Tripoli University Hospital, involving 400 laboratory request forms and blood containers. Data was collected using an international standard checklist, and further analyzed using SPSS. Findings reveled that date of request and sex of the patients were present in all collected forms. However, physician’s full name was missing in 80% of the request forms. No clinical details were provided in 79% of the forms. The doctor's signature was absent on 57% of the request forms. A bout 50% of the samples delivered in the laboratory did not contain the recommended volume of blood and 50% samples were hemolyzed. Besides, laboratory personals were not adhered with the standardized handling and transportation methods according to the International Organization of Standardization. Continuous educational action is needed for all lab staff involved in laboratory testing to improve the quality of the pre-analytical phase of the total testing process.