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Use of quality indicators to compare point-of-care testing errors in a neonatal unit and errors in a STAT central

Miguel Cantero, Maximino Redondo, Eva Martín

    Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine
    |August 26, 2014
    PubMed

    Insights

    Quality indicators reveal significant preanalytical errors in point-of-care testing (POCT), similar to central laboratory (CL) testing. Monitoring these quality indicators is crucial for reducing POCT errors.

    Area of Science:

    • Clinical Laboratory Science
    • Point-of-Care Diagnostics
    • Quality Management in Healthcare

    Background:

    • Point-of-care testing (POCT) is susceptible to errors, similar to central laboratory (CL) testing.
    • Quality indicators (QIs) are recommended for evaluating error rates, but data for POCT is limited.
    • Understanding POCT quality error rates is essential for improving diagnostic accuracy.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To investigate and quantify quality error rates in POCT.
    • To compare POCT quality error rates with those of CL testing.
    • To identify specific areas within the testing process contributing to errors.

    Main Methods:

    • Standardized quality indicators (QIs) were used to compare POCT and CL testing.
    • Error rates were assessed for sample requests, collection, and handling.
    • External quality assessment programs (EQAP) and internal quality control (IQC) results were analyzed.

    Main Results:

    • Patient identification errors were significantly higher in POCT (45.3%) versus CL (0.02%).
    • Samples without results were more frequent in POCT (15.8%) compared to CL (3.3%).
    • Analytical phase QIs showed better performance in POCT than CL testing for EQAP and IQC.

    Conclusions:

    • The preanalytical phase presents the primary challenge for both POCT and CL testing.
    • Continuous monitoring of quality indicators is a highly effective strategy for minimizing errors in POCT.
    • Implementing robust QI monitoring can enhance the reliability of point-of-care diagnostic results.
    Abstract

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