Italian 
English Rischio clinico ed ematologia di Laboratorio: è possibile affidarsi al solo Volume Corpuscolare Medio per scoprire l’errata identificazione del paziente?
Clinical risk management in laboratory haematology: is Mean Corpuscular Volume a reliable marker to recognize identification errors?
AUTORI
Margherita Berardi1, Fiamma Balboni1, Sabrina Buoro2
1Laboratorio Analisi Istituto Fiorentino di Cura e Assistenza IFCA Firenze
2Azienda Socio Sanitaria Territoriale Papa Giovanni XXIII Bergamo
1Laboratorio Analisi Istituto Fiorentino di Cura e Assistenza IFCA Firenze
2Azienda Socio Sanitaria Territoriale Papa Giovanni XXIII Bergamo
ABSTRACT
Clinical risk management in laboratory haematology: is Mean Corpuscular Volume a reliable marker to recognize identification errors?
Identification errors in laboratory medicine are a major issue. Delta checks rules have a fundamental function to identify this type of errors. In the haematology section of the laboratory, the mean corpuscular volume (MCV) is one of the parameters which delta checks rely on. Unfortunately, this approach is sub-optimal since many patients show similar MCV. We present here a case illustrating the problem and the potential drawbacks for patient safety.