The core biopsy: an unexpected journey

Abstract

Think of a pathology specimen as your suitcase. When we check into a flight, that suitcase needs to be identified and tagged in a way to allow it to follow you across the world to your final destination. It passes through many checkpoints, conveyor belts and holds, and we trust that this will happen, but sometimes the process fails. A pathology specimen also has a long journey through the test cycle in an anatomical pathology lab, passing from bench to bench, hand to hand through many stages, and a great deal of trust is placed in the process by the patient and clinician, but this process can also fail. Understandably an error in tracking suitcases, although irritating, is often not as life changing as an error in a pathology lab, but in both instances, the start of the chain is often the most pivotal, with appropriate checkpoints also in place along the way. There has been a significant number of reports in recent times highlighting poor clinical outcomes as a result of pre-analytical errors within pathology labs. This has prompted us to review our practice. We have implemented a number of strategies to limit errors in relation to the processing of core biopsy specimens. We would like to share our experiences and engage other labs to come together to further improve patient safety.