title: The BCSH guideline on addressograph labels: experience at a cardiothoracic unit and findings of a telephone survey.
abstract: In 1998 we implemented a BCSH recommendation that addressograph labels should not be used on blood transfusion specimen tubes. Over a 12-month period before the ban was introduced our laboratory received 5964 red cell transfusion requests, 182 (3.1%) of which contained an error in the identification details (ID) supplied on the request form and/or specimen. Three of these errors were of the 'wrong patient' type, i.e. the sample belonged to a different patient from the one whose ID appeared on the specimen tube and request form. Over the 12 months after the ban was introduced 511 (8. 1%) of 6326 requests contained a labelling error, an increase in error rate of 165%; no wrong-patient errors were identified, however. In a survey, seven (29.2%) of 24 transfusion laboratories in the UK accepted specimens labelled with addressograph stickers; in four of these cases a local blood transfusion committee had agreed that the BCSH guideline should not be followed. We believe the BCSH guideline is valid; its implementation, however, has major financial and workload implications, which probably explains why many hospitals apparently do not comply with it.
authors.affiliation: Department of Haematology and Blood Transfusion, Harefield Hospital, Middlesex, UK.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cummins
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sharp
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vartanian
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dawson
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Amin
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Halil
mesh_terms: D001771:Blood Banks / Q000458:organization & administration*; D001800:Blood Specimen Collection / Q000592:standards*; D017707:Erythrocyte Transfusion / Q000592:standards*; D005568:Forms and Records Control; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006753:Hospital Records / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D008485:Medical Audit; D009313:National Health Programs / Q000592:standards*; D010355:Patient Identification Systems / Q000592:standards*; D018962:Phlebotomy; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D013048:Specimen Handling / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013689:Telephone; D006113:United Kingdom