Abstract
Objective: To evaluate laboratory turnaround time (TAT) and to find out the reasons for delay in TAT in diagnosing coronavirus disease (COVID) samples. Methods: This cross-sectional, descriptive, and observational study was conducted from August 2020 to March 2021 in a Tertiary care teaching hospital. TAT was calculated from sample reception to report dispatch. Results: Of the 4500 samples analyzed in Molecular Laboratory for the purpose of COVID diagnosis, 890 (19.7%) had delayed TAT. The average TAT of samples in Emergency and Intensive care units (ICU) is 3 h;and it is 3 h and 30 min in inpatient and outpatient (OP) services. The average prolonged TAT is 3 h and 30 min and 4 h 10 min in Emergency care, ICU services, and inpatient and OP services respectively. The reasons for prolonged TAT includes payment for tests in the cash unit, repetition of test, specimen related, reagent related, machine breakdown, and software related. Conclusion: The TAT demonstrates the need for improvement in the pre- and post-analytical period.
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