Nonconformities in the pre-analytical phase identified in a public health laboratory

Introduction: The nonconformities detected in the pre-analytical phase of laboratory tests sent to the Central Public Health Laboratories (Lacen) culminate in the loss of epidemiological data of great importance for public health and are detrimental to health surveillance. This study aimed to identify the most frequent pre-analytical nonconformities recorded by Lacen/PR and the major difficulties encountered by the primary and regional health units in the registration of exams in the Laboratory Environment Manager (GAL) system. Results: The analysis of data from the Paraná GAL system in 2017 identified 9,723 discards for disagreeing samples in a total of 132,567 tests performed in the same period. The most frequent nonconformities were: request canceled by the GAL management due to expiration of the screening period (28%), and sample unsuitable for the requested analysis (28%). Discussion: After identifying the vulnerabilities of this stage of the process, the greatest detected difficulty was requesting the correct test. Conclusion: Data indicate the need to strengthen training and improve the pre-analytical process in order to ensure patient safety and epidemiological data.