How to decrease the rejection rates: reasons of sample rejection and solutions

Objective: Sample rejection is an important step in the laboratory related with the patient safety. Periodical analysis of rejected samples is necessary to define the causes of rejection and follow-up the requirements for staff training. In this study, we aimed to put forth the efficiency of trainings by analyzing the amount of rejected samples in Yozgat State Hospital. Materials and methods: Taken from laboratory information system (LIS), rejected sample statistics related to 8 month-data before training was compared with 8-month data after training between 07.2015 and 10.2016 are examined. These datas were compared in itself and to each other. All statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS (V15). Results: Before training, the average number of patients for the analysis included months was 34,733 [standard deviation (SD) +/- 4031], the number of rejected samples was 397.7 (SD +/- 85.3) and the average rejection percentage was 1.13 (min-max: 1-1.29). The average number of patients for the after training months was 39,426 (SD +/- 4779), the number of rejected samples was 343.2 (SD +/- 57.7) and the average rejection percentage was 0.87 (min-max: 0.62-0.98), Rejected sample rates were significantly lower interms of statistics in the after-training group (p = 0.0001). Conclusion: Staff training takes a very important place preventing these mistakes. As it can be seen in our study, training helps decreasing rejection rates. It is suggested to schedule more trainings in order to decrease the rates to lower degrees.