BACKGROUND/AIMS The new mini-microscope Geratherm® ovu control was evaluated for its recognition of saliva ferning in a collective of 47 patients taking part in an artificial reproductive technology program on the day of follicular puncture. METHODS The ferning phenomenon was evaluated by patients and laboratory staff according to the criteria: no ferning, slight ferning and good ferning. R...

Audits are part of the continuous quality improvement process and one of the key elements of clinical governance. Laboratory-based clinical audits are concerned primarily with the everyday aspects of laboratory services and are a means of providing feedback to the users of the laboratory and its staff. They involve measuring the performance of laboratory services against established standards. ...

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the level of knowledge of, to investigate the attitudes toward, and to determine the emphasis given to the national prevalence of HBV/HCV infections among healthcare professionals. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 206 healthcare professionals (mean (SD) age: 37.0 (6.3) years; 86.9% - females) including medical laboratory technicians (N = 54) and nurses (N = 152) employe...

Leaders Is the proficiency test in cervical cytology proficient? It is accepted that internal quality control and external quality assurance are necessary elements in ensuring high standards in the reporting of cervical smears. A major component of external quality assurance in the United Kingdom in recent years has been the proficiency test in cervical cytology. Participation in regional profi...

BACKGROUND Clinical laboratories are crucial in addressing the high rates of communicable and non-communicable diseases seen in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, the most basic information, such as the number and quality of clinical laboratories in SSA, is not available. The objective of this study was to create a practical method for obtaining this information in SSA towns and cities using an...

OBJECTIVE The aim of our study was to identify barriers and enablers to implementation of the Xpert MTB/RIF test within Mongolia's National Tuberculosis Program. METHODS Twenty-foursemi-structured interviews were conducted between June and September 2015 with laboratory staff and tuberculosis physicians in Mongolia's capital Ulaanbaatar and regional towns where Xpert MTB/RIF testing had been ...

background: quality assurance in the hematology laboratory is a must to ensure laboratory users of reliable test results with high degree of precision and accuracy. even after so many advances in hematology laboratory practice, pre-analytical errors remain a challenge for practicing pathologists. this study was undertaken with an objective to evaluate the types and frequency of preanalytical er...

OBJECTIVE To understand how the results of laboratory tests are communicated to patients in primary care and perceptions on how the process may be improved. DESIGN Qualitative study employing staff focus groups. SETTING Four UK primary care practices. PARTICIPANTS Staff involved in the communication of test results. FINDINGS Five main themes emerged from the data: (i) the default method...