Prevalence and type of preanalytical problems for inpatients samples in coagulation laboratory.

Rationale, aims and objectives: Total quality in coagulation testing is a necessary requisite to achieve clinically reliable results. Evidence was provided that poor standardization in the extra-analytical phases of the testing process has the greatest influence on test results, though little information is available so far on prevalence and type of pre-analytical variability in coagulation testing. Methods: The present study was designed to describe all pre-analytical problems on inpatients routine and stat samples recorded in our coagulation laboratory over a 2-year period and clustered according to their source (hospital departments). Results: Overall, pre-analytic problems were identified in 5.5% of the specimens. Although the highest frequency was observed for paediatric departments, in no case was the comparison of the prevalence among the different hospital departments statistically significant. The more frequent problems could be referred to samples not received in the laborato...