Trends and determinants of laboratory specimen rejection rates at Debre Markos comprehensive specialized hospital in Ethiopia

Abstract Clinical laboratory errors can be classified into pre-analytical, analytical, and post-analytical phases. The majority of laboratory errors originate from the manually intensive activities of the pre-analytical phase, primarily those related to the collection, handling, transportation, prep...

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Main Authors: Bewket Mesganaw, Ketema Misganaw, Mekuriaw Belayneh
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-07-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-10374-7
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author Bewket Mesganaw
Ketema Misganaw
Mekuriaw Belayneh
author_facet Bewket Mesganaw
Ketema Misganaw
Mekuriaw Belayneh
author_sort Bewket Mesganaw
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Clinical laboratory errors can be classified into pre-analytical, analytical, and post-analytical phases. The majority of laboratory errors originate from the manually intensive activities of the pre-analytical phase, primarily those related to the collection, handling, transportation, preparation, and storage of diagnostic specimens. This study aimed to analyze trends and causes of laboratory specimen rejection among referred diagnostic tests over four years (2020–2023) at Debre Markos comprehensive specialized hospital in Ethiopia. A document review was conducted at Debre Markos Comprehensive Specialized Hospital Laboratory. Specimens tested for viral load for HIV, CD4 count for HIV monitoring, GeneXpert for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and Early Infant Diagnosis for HIV were included. Finally, statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 22.0 software. Among 35,673 submitted specimens, 560 (1.57%) were rejected. Annual rejection rates decreased from 2.30% in 2020 to 1.26% in 2023. The most rejected specimens were for CD4 testing (5.41%), and the least for GeneXpert (0.20%). Hemolysis (28.6%) and insufficient volume (22.5%) were the top reasons for rejection. In conclusion, although the trends of laboratory specimen rejection rates among referred specimens was gradually improved from 2020 to 2023, still needs more interventions until it meets to the standard specimen rejection rate of 0.3%.
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spelling doaj-art-8544f467f2684a1ea5656e79bd9f61a32025-08-20T03:45:52ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-07-011511510.1038/s41598-025-10374-7Trends and determinants of laboratory specimen rejection rates at Debre Markos comprehensive specialized hospital in EthiopiaBewket Mesganaw0Ketema Misganaw1Mekuriaw Belayneh2Department of Medical Laboratory science, College of health sciences, Debre Markos UniversityEthiopian Public Health InstituteDepartment of Medical Laboratory science, College of health sciences, Debre Markos UniversityAbstract Clinical laboratory errors can be classified into pre-analytical, analytical, and post-analytical phases. The majority of laboratory errors originate from the manually intensive activities of the pre-analytical phase, primarily those related to the collection, handling, transportation, preparation, and storage of diagnostic specimens. This study aimed to analyze trends and causes of laboratory specimen rejection among referred diagnostic tests over four years (2020–2023) at Debre Markos comprehensive specialized hospital in Ethiopia. A document review was conducted at Debre Markos Comprehensive Specialized Hospital Laboratory. Specimens tested for viral load for HIV, CD4 count for HIV monitoring, GeneXpert for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and Early Infant Diagnosis for HIV were included. Finally, statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 22.0 software. Among 35,673 submitted specimens, 560 (1.57%) were rejected. Annual rejection rates decreased from 2.30% in 2020 to 1.26% in 2023. The most rejected specimens were for CD4 testing (5.41%), and the least for GeneXpert (0.20%). Hemolysis (28.6%) and insufficient volume (22.5%) were the top reasons for rejection. In conclusion, although the trends of laboratory specimen rejection rates among referred specimens was gradually improved from 2020 to 2023, still needs more interventions until it meets to the standard specimen rejection rate of 0.3%.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-10374-7Specimen rejection rateClinical laboratory errorsLaboratory quality management system
spellingShingle Bewket Mesganaw
Ketema Misganaw
Mekuriaw Belayneh
Trends and determinants of laboratory specimen rejection rates at Debre Markos comprehensive specialized hospital in Ethiopia
Scientific Reports
Specimen rejection rate
Clinical laboratory errors
Laboratory quality management system
title Trends and determinants of laboratory specimen rejection rates at Debre Markos comprehensive specialized hospital in Ethiopia
title_full Trends and determinants of laboratory specimen rejection rates at Debre Markos comprehensive specialized hospital in Ethiopia
title_fullStr Trends and determinants of laboratory specimen rejection rates at Debre Markos comprehensive specialized hospital in Ethiopia
title_full_unstemmed Trends and determinants of laboratory specimen rejection rates at Debre Markos comprehensive specialized hospital in Ethiopia
title_short Trends and determinants of laboratory specimen rejection rates at Debre Markos comprehensive specialized hospital in Ethiopia
title_sort trends and determinants of laboratory specimen rejection rates at debre markos comprehensive specialized hospital in ethiopia
topic Specimen rejection rate
Clinical laboratory errors
Laboratory quality management system
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-10374-7
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AT mekuriawbelayneh trendsanddeterminantsoflaboratoryspecimenrejectionratesatdebremarkoscomprehensivespecializedhospitalinethiopia