Paper I — 2024 March (Supplementary) (2019 Scheme) — Q14

Paper I

2024 March (Supplementary) (2019 Scheme) · 100 marks · 180 min

Question

A sample was received in laboratory for blood culture from medical ward and it was found to be wrongly labelled. What measures will you adopt in such a situation.

Q141 marks★✓

Answer

A wrongly labelled blood culture sample should be rejected and not processed — the sample should be discarded, and a fresh sample should be requested/recollected with correct labelling, since processing a mislabelled sample risks reporting results against the wrong patient, with potentially serious clinical consequences (incorrect diagnosis/treatment). The incident should be documented and reported as per the laboratory’s incident-reporting/quality-assurance protocol, and the ward/clinician notified promptly so a correctly labelled repeat sample can be collected without undue delay to patient care.

Related Concepts

1. 1Needle Stick Injury and Standard Precautions

Other Years Asked

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12. 12Name the disinfectant (with %) to be used for a large spill.2023 January (Supplementary) (2019 Scheme)1 mark
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