Abstract:
Objective With the development of medical science and technology, the results of laboratory tests have become more and more significant for most clinical decisions. Therefore, under the premise of ensuring the accuracy and reliability of the test results, shortening the turnaround time (TAT) is one of the focuses of current clinical laboratories. The purpose of this study is to establish an autoverification system for clinical biochemistry tests in our laboratory.
Methods An autoverification system was established according to the documents of the AUTO-10A guideline of Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI), the checklist of the College of American Pathology (CAP) and the ISO 15189 rules. This system was applied in our laboratory information system (LIS), the Abbott C1600 biochemistry analyser and its managing software IM. This autoverification system consisted of five domains for every test:autoverification limits, critical value, delta check, quality control and algorithms for special tests. A flowchart was constructed to summarize this system. Turnaround time (TAT) before and after using this system was compared. Consistency rate between autoverification and manual verification was analysed.
Results A total of 435 rules were released and a flowchart was constructed. Autoverification rate in 325 000 specimens was 52.3%. The TAT of the outpatients and hospital samples before and after using this system was statistically significant (all
P<0.05). The TATs for specimens of outpatients and inpatients was shortened to 43 and 60 minutes. The most frequent reasons for autoverification failure were autoverification limit and delta check. The consistency rate between autoverification and manual verification was 99.98%.
Conclusion An autoverification system that is suitable for our laboratory has been established. This autoverification system can significantly shorten the TAT. The system is very safe and worthy of promotion and application in the laboratory.