Nursing organization and management in the practice of blood sample collection

Abstract

Laboratory testing of blood samples is essential for the diagnosis and treatment of patients. This article aims to describe preanalytical errors in the clinical laboratory from a nursing management approach. Diagnostic tests are clinical decision support tools. Their use is said to be adequate or appropriate if the result answers the question that the clinician had asked himself before its request and, at the same time, if it helps him to decide some therapeutic action that benefits the patient. Venous blood collection is one of the most frequent nursing interventions in the ED, as well as a conclusive diagnostic test to establish a clinical judgment. Laboratory results have been estimated to affect up to 70% of the medical diagnosis, thus impacting the course of treatment and prognosis of patients. Therefore, it is necessary to have excellent quality control throughout the laboratory process to ensure that the results released to the clinician are reliable and truthful. In the pre-analytical process there is a wide variety of errors, these errors cover several areas; those related to the blood test request, i.e., that it is inadequate or incorrectly performed, lost or misidentified.

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