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2009, Volume 25, Number 1, Page(s) 029-037
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DOI: 10.5146/tjpath.2009.00958 |
Quality control of pathology laboratories in Turkey |
Kutsal YÖRÜKOĞLU1, Alp USUBÜTÜN2, Öner DOĞAN3, Binnur ÖNAL4, Özlem AYDIN5 |
1Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Patoloji Anabilim Dalı, İZMİR, TÜRKİYE 2Hacettepe Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Patoloji Anabilim Dalı, ANKARA, TÜRKİYE 3İstanbul Üniversitesi İstanbul Tıp Fakültesi Patoloji Anabilim Dalı, İSTANBUL, TÜRKİYE 4Ankara Dışkapı YB Eğitim-Araştırma Hastanesi 1. Patoloji Kliniği, ANKARA, TÜRKİYE 5Acıbadem Hastaneleri Merkez Patoloji Laboratuvarı, İSTANBUL, TÜRKİYE |
Keywords:
Survey, quality control, quality assurance, pathology laboratory |
Aim: The aim of this study is to determine the standards
of quality control and assurance programs adopted
in pathology laboratories in Turkey by the aid of a
questionnaire-based survey.
Materials and Methods: We have submitted a survey
that consisted of 68 questions to 250 various public and
private pathology laboratories located in university
hospitals, Ministry of Health research hospitals, and
private hospitals throughout Turkey. We received 84
responses, and the responses were analyzed with the aid
of a statistics program (SPSS).
Results: None of the pathology laboratories that responded
to the survey used a quality control program
that was unique to pathology, and many of the responders
were using general hospital quality control programs.
There were no standards in the use and calibration
of histopathology equipment. Half of the laboratories
had written guidelines of their quality control procedures.
The written protocols were most common for
macroscopic examination and reporting of specimens.
Adult autopsies were very low to null, but there were
large number of pediatric and perinatal autopsies performed
in most of the laboratories. We identified many
problems concerning the safety procedures.
Conclusion: Our results showed that pathology quality
control programs adopted elsewhere may not be entirely
suitable to pathology laboratories in our country.
We propose development of quality assurance programs
that consider the specific circumstances of the pathology
laboratories in our country, and such programs
should be better implemented.
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