Assessing therapeutic turnaround time of creatinine, urea and FBC from emergency departments at Queens central hospital
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Date
2021-01-16
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Kamuzu University of Health Science
Abstract
Type of research An observational descriptive study will be conducted on creatinine, urea and full blood count
testing requests from the adult emergency department delivered at the Clinical Chemistry and
hematology section of the Queens Elizabeth Central hospital (QECH) laboratory department
The problem to be studied Therapeutic turnaround time is the period from test ordering to the time the results for the test
are given. Clinicians rely on shortness of turnaround time (TAT) to achieve early diagnosis,
treatment of the patients and early patient discharge from emergency departments or hospital
in-patient services and the hospital as a whole. A clear knowledge of Laboratory Turnaround Time
(LTAT) will enable critical assessment of laboratory services and improve therapeutic turnaround
time (TTAT), thus improve care provision and shorten the length of stay in the emergency
department.
Objectives This study will define the therapeutic turnaround time for creatinine, blood urea nitrogen (BUN)
and full blood count (FBC) tests from the adult emergency department at Queen Elizabeth
Central Hospital (QECH). Specifically, this study will quantify the demand for creatinine, urea and
full blood count tests from the adult emergency department; and further identify factors
affecting the turnaround time for these tests in the emergency department and at in a clinical
laboratory.
Methodology Blood samples will be received at the Clinical Chemistry Department for creatinine and urea
and at hematology department for full blood count within the QECH laboratory department. A
number of tests will be observed in a time period of a month and a sample size of 196 will be
observed. Average time taken to complete each phase of the test will be measured and overall
turnaround time for each test will be calculated. Clinical data. Emergency department and
laboratory issues identified as affecting the turnaround time will be categorized and reported in
proportions to define the demand and describe the factors affecting the TTAT. EPI Info 7.0 will
be used for data analysis.
163.5 Expected findings and dissemination The expectation is that the TTAT identified in this study will be more than 60 minutes which is
the acceptable TTAT as described by Robert Hawkins. The study findings will be presented to the
Medical laboratory science (MLS) department, QECH emergency and laboratory departments.
The final study report will be submitted to College of Medicine Research and Ethics Committee
(COMREC) and college of medicine library. These results will be disseminated through
attendance of local conferences/seminars and publication in peer-reviewed journal.
Description
An observational descriptive study will be conducted on creatinine, urea and full blood count
testing requests from the adult emergency department delivered at the Clinical Chemistry and
hematology section of the Queens Elizabeth Central hospital (QECH) laboratory department