[Experience with and prospects for emergency Ippan kensa (urinalysis, fecal tests and body fluid tests].
Ippan Kensa (defined as urinalysis, fecal tests, and tests of cerebrospinal fluid, pleural fluid, ascites, and other body fluids) are done of fresh samples, as a rule, and such samples should be tested as soon as possible. Even for tests not ordered in an emergency, rapid results are desirable. In these two senses, all tests are somewhat urgent. Along with the rest of the hospital, our section moved into a new hospital complex in 1993, and that time, an order-entry and reporting system was implemented. Urinalysis was totally systematized from the start with two automated analyzers connected to an automated transportation system, and other tests were gradually automated and computerized. Time and labor were saved without decreased quality. Most routine tests are now done within 2.5 hours of sampling. Emergency tests are not handled by a special, formally established procedure in our laboratory, but at the request of a physician, any test can be done rapidly when necessary, because the system allows interruption at any time for testing of samples out of order. Our experience with this system suggests that automation and computerization are essential if emergency and urgent tests are to be done rapidly by a small staff. Further improvements in the high-quality automated analyzers already available, speeding results but allowing fewer false-positives and false-negatives can be expected.
Imai
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Central Laboratory for Clinical Investigation, Osaka University Hospital, Suita.
Amino
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N
D001331:Automation; D003201:Computers; D003955:Diagnostic Tests, Routine / Q000379:methods; D004630:Emergencies; D006801:Humans; D013997:Time Factors