Quality Control, Quality Assurance/performance Improvement, And The Laboratory Role In Infection Control

Front 1

What is surveillance data? Why is it collected?

Back 1

• part of Hospital infection control program
• Infection rates
• helps recognize trends, outbreaks, and monitor positive effects of interventions

Front 2

Surveillance cultures - purpose

Back 2

a method of limiting outbreaks in healthcare settings

Front 3

Surveillance cultures - examples

Back 3

• cooling towers or hot water sources for Legionella sp
• water and dialysis fluids
• blood bank products
• testing patients for VRE, MRSA, and VRSA
• checking sterilizers

Front 4

Lab testing - Preanalytical activity

Back 4

before a sample is analyzed

• patient identification and specimen collection

Front 5

Lab testing - analytical activity

Back 5

sample analysis

• reading and interpreting culture plates and doing testing on isolates

Front 6

Lab testing - post analytical activity

Back 6

after the sample analysis

reporting of results

Front 7

Purpose of quality control

Back 7

ensure the medical reliability of laboratory data

Each laboratory establishes and maintains written guidelines for QC systems for all testing phases

Front 8

Temperature QC

Back 8

recorded daily

measured on things like: incubators, heating blocks, water baths, refrigerators, freezers

Front 9

Equipment QC

Back 9

• Tested for proper performance at intervals that are appropriate for the piece of equipment (i.e. checking of incubator CO2 level daily; measuring RPMs of centrifuge)
• Does it work?
• Preventive maintenance
• Repair or replacing parts before problems arise

Front 10

Media QC

Back 10

• Document performance and sterility
• Commercial media are always tested by manufacturer
• Lab is required to have statement of QC from manufacturer
• Lab must check all media for moisture, sterility, breakage, and appearance.

Front 11

Reagent QC

Back 11

• Reagents tested each day of use
• Positive and negative controls
• Ranges from every shift to once per lot/shipment
• Lot-to-lot testing should be performed.
• Components of kits with different lots should not be interchanged.

Front 12

Antimicrobial Susceptibility QC

Back 12

• Done on ATCC (American Type Culture Collection) control organisms
• (These organisms are characterized strains, using patient isolates causes too much variability)
• Initial susceptibility of control organisms is usually conducted daily until precision can be demonstrated with 20 or 30 consecutive days of acceptable results.

Front 13

Personnel QC (competency)

Back 13

• Direct observation
• Written exams
• Proficiency testing
• Review of work by another technologist
• Continuing education (CE)

Front 14

Reagents - examples

Back 14

• Stains

• Spot indole
• Catalase
• Coagulase
• Oxidase