Abstract

DIAZ CONCEPCION, Alina. Quality assurance in hemostasia laboratories. Rev Cubana Hematol Inmunol Hemoter [online]. 2002, vol.18, n.2, pp. 0-0. ISSN 1561-2996.

The concept of quality control has extended in the last few years and nowadays, it is being replaced by the term quality assurance as a more comprehensive concept that comprises the whole process of the activity related to the clinical lab, from the moment the analytical request is made up to the reception of the final result by the requester. This practice is required for accreditation of clinical labs and blood transfusion services in which the key word is the documentation of the quality assurance systems. In hemostasia, the pre-clinical phase is a fundamental stage since the final result, the adequate preparation of controls and the use of gages for determining the activity of individual factors and the detection of inhibitors largely depend on it. The determination of prothrombin time, of the international standardized relation and of the activated partial thromboplastin time are usual determinations in the External Quality Control whereas the estimation of fibrinogen concentration, the coagulating factor VIII, other factors and physiological inhibitors of coagulation are sporadically included. At present, international programs for the standardization of several lab tests are being carried out. To implement the standardization of tests and materials used in hemostasia, a number of institutions have decided to aim their efforts to achieve common reference systems

Keywords : QUALITY CONTROL; CLINICAL LABORATORY TECHNIQUES [standards]; BLOOD COAGULATION TESTS [standards].