The pre-analytical phase holds significant importance within laboratory workflows, with one of its key steps involving sample collection. Ensuring the integrity of the sample is paramount for various reasons: it directly impacts the accuracy and dependability of test results, influences cost-effectiveness, enhances patient safety, and contributes to standardization and reproducibility. An in-depth knowledge of what constitutes a high-quality sample is indispensable for optimizing laboratory efficiency and ensuring diagnostic test reliability.
Based on the journal entitled, "Tenets of Specimen Management in Diagnostic Microbiology" written by Rajeshwar Reddy Kasarla and Laxmi Pathak, an optimal sample can be acquired by regulating technical custom with specific guidelines emphasizing the importance of proper collection, handling, storage, and transport of specimens in the laboratory. Moreover, according to LabCorp, to procure an optimal sample, it is significant to ensure the quality and quantity of specimens by being knowledgeable of how each specimen should be managed since every specimen has its own requirements. An example of this is a CSF specimen wherein it requires to be kept in the freezer for virus isolation. Within the context of a diagnostic laboratory setting, an optimal sample has the capacity to produce a result with increased accuracy and reliability. Thus, acquiring an optimal sample has a substantial influence on the therapeutic decisions for the patient.
Reference:
Introduction to Specimen Collection [labcorp]. (2024). Retrieved from https://www.labcorp.com/resource/introduction-to-specimen-collection
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