preanalytical errors in hematology laboratory- an avoidable incompetence

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, preanalytical errors remain a challenge for practicing pathologists. this study was undertaken with an objective to evaluate the types and frequency of preanalytical errors in hematology laboratory of our center.methods: all the sles received in the hematology laboratory of dayanand medical college and hospital, ludhiana, india over a period of one year (july 2013july 2014) were included in the study and preanalytical variables like clotted sles, quantity not sufficient, wrong sle, without label, wrong label were studied.results: of 471,006 sles received in the laboratory, preanalytical errors, as per the above mentioned categories was found in 1802 sles. the most common error was clotted sles (1332 sles, 0.28% of the total sles) followed by quantity not sufficient (328 sle, 0.06%), wrong sle (96 sles, 0.02%), without label (24 sles, 0.005%) and wrong label (22 sles, 0.005%)conclusion: preanalytical errors are frequent in laboratories and can be corrected by regular analysis of the variables involved. rectification can be done by regular education of the staff.