BACKGROUND The problem of medical errors has recently received a great deal of attention, which will probably increase. In this minireview, we focus on this issue in the fields of laboratory medicine and blood transfusion. METHODS We conducted several MEDLINE queries and searched the literature by hand. Searches were limited to the last 8 years to identify results that were not biased by obso...

• Preanalytical variables influence the quality and quantity of isolated cfDNA. This paper compares preanalytical aspects published for cfDNA analysis. Blood drawing, collection tube, centrifugation, storage isolation are crucial. The analysis circulating cell free DNA is an important tool tumor resistance, heterogeneity, detection minimal residual disease allograft rejection in kidney or heart...

BACKGROUND Point-of-care testing (POCT) systems enable a wide range of tests to be rapidly performed at the bedside and have attracted increasing interest in the intensive care unit (ICU). However, previous studies comparing the concordance of POCT with central laboratory testing have reported divergent findings. Most reported studies on POCT reliability have focused on analyzer performance rat...

OBJECTIVE To quantify performance in the preanalytical phase in a stat laboratory using quality indicators, and compare our results with those in the literature to improve laboratory services. METHODS We counted the test request forms, samples, and the types of preanalytical errors that occured in a stat laboratory between January 1 and December 31, 2011. We then compared the quality-indicato...

Every day, analytical and bio-analytical chemists make sustained efforts to improve the sensitivity, specificity, robustness, and reproducibility of their methods. Especially in targeted and non-targeted profiling approaches, including metabolomics analysis, these objectives are not easy to achieve; however, robust and reproducible measurements and low coefficients of variation (CV) are crucial...

Introduction The total testing process, which begins with the order of the physician, includes the preanalytical, analytical and postanalytical phases and ends with the results ready for interpretation. To obtain a reliable test result requires detection of all steps however, to control the preanalytical stage is such a complex way that much of the steps are human dependent and out of the labor...

BACKGROUND Purchase of automated systems in today's clinical laboratory needs justification based on demonstrable improvements in efficiency and a sound payback model. Few studies provide information on laboratory automation that focuses on the preanalytical portion of specimen processing. METHODS We recently evaluated an automated preanalytical processing unit (GENESIS FE500) at two academic...