A Comparative Study of Pre-analytical Errors in Central Clinical Laboratory in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Maharashtra

Background: Diagnosis of various diseases in the present medical scenario is largely dependent on the tests performed in Central Clinical Laboratory. Sample testing in laboratory requires skills where errors can occur at any phase, i.e., pre-analytical, analytical and post-analytical phase. This leads to a misdiagnosis and can have serious patient hazards. Aim and Objectives: Present study focuses on the pre-analytical phase, with the aim to evaluate different types of pre-analytical errors in the clinical biochemistry laboratory and to compare the frequency of pre-analytical errors before and after training the phlebotomists. Material and Methods: The present study was conducted in of Ashwini Rural Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre, Kumbhari, Solapur, Maharashtra for the period of 12 months in two phases, each phase of six months. During this period, different types of pre-analytical errors were monitored and compared in the first phase and the second phase of study after giving training to the phlebotomists. Results: A total of 980 pre-analytical errors were noted in the year 2019 of which 740 (75.51%) errors were from the first phase of study and 240 (24.48%) errors were from the second phase of study. It was observed in the present study that there was a significant decrease in pre-analytical errors in second phase (p<0.0001) when they are compared with first phase after training period. Conclusion: Proper training to the phlebotomists played a very important role in significant reduction of pre-analytical errors in second phase of study which is of great importance.