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Retrospective study showed that blood sampling errors risked children's well-being and safety in a Swedish paediatric

Henrik Hjelmgren1,2, Anna Nilsson1,2, Nina Andersson-Papadogiannakis1,2

  • 1Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.

Acta Paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992)
|August 3, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Preanalytical errors (PAEs) in blood analysis are common in pediatric care, with clotting and insufficient filling being major issues. Overall quality control for pediatric blood sampling requires improvement.

Area of Science:

  • Clinical Laboratory Science
  • Pediatric Healthcare Quality
  • Medical Diagnostics

Background:

  • Preanalytical errors (PAEs) in blood analyses pose significant risks to patient safety.
  • Effective quality indicators for blood sampling are crucial, especially in pediatric tertiary care.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the frequency of PAEs in blood analyses.
  • To assess the quality indicators of the blood sampling process in Swedish pediatric tertiary care.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of laboratory data from Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital (2013-2014).
  • Evaluation of preanalytical blood sampling performance using the Six Sigma scale.
  • Calculation of defects per million (DPM) for error assessment.

Main Results:

  • 5.4% of over 1.1 million analyses were rejected due to PAEs.
  • PAEs varied significantly by hospital specialty (1.9-9.4%) and work shift.
  • Clotting (51.3%) and incorrectly filled samples (25%) were the most common PAEs.

Conclusions:

  • Frequent PAEs, particularly clotting and underfilling, impact pediatric blood sample quality.
  • Error distribution varied across shifts and specific analyses.
  • The overall quality control for pediatric blood sampling was deemed minimally acceptable.
Abstract

Keywords:
Blood sampling collectionPaediatricPreanalytical errorsRisk analysisSix Sigma

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