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Q Bulletin, Volume 1, No. 32 (Supplement 1), Jan - Dec 202412th National QA Convention, 8 %u2013 10 October 2024QLL-86Reducing Clotted Full Blood Count Samples in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)and Special Care Nursery (SCN): A Quality Assurance Project in a Tertiary Centre inSarawakDewi NS1, Vivehanantham A2, Kiew CH21Pathology Department, Sarawak General Hospital, Sarawak2Pediatrics Department, Sarawak General Hospital, SarawakINTRODUCTION:A full blood count (FBC) is a commonly performed test in neonatal intensive care units and special carenurseries. However, clotted samples sent to the laboratory often result in specimen rejection, leading tounnecessary repeat drawing of blood and inevitably causing painful stimuli to the fragile newborns. Theaim of the study was to reduce the percentage of clotted samples in FBC tests from the NICU and SCN.METHODOLOGY:The indicator measured in this study was the percentage of clotted FBC samples from the NICU and SCNwith the standard set at less than 1.0% according to the Malaysian Society for Quality in Health (MSQH).All blood samples received and rejected in the haematology laboratory from January until July 2024 wereobtained from the laboratory information system (LIS). Interventions aimed at reducing the percentage ofclotted blood samples includes mentoring of health personnel%u2019s blood withdrawal techniques and activereminder of adherence to ward standard operating procedures. Additionally, the integration of amulti-faceted educational plan was implemented, involving collaboration between both the pathology andpaediatric departments to organise continuous medical education (CME) sessions and workshops. Theseinitiatives aimed to raise awareness regarding correct and safe blood sampling techniques.RESULTS:The baseline from NICU and SCN was 13.6% and 13.3% in January 2024 respectively. The percentage ofFBC clotted samples decreased by 34% and 39% in the NICU and SCN by April 2024 afterimplementation of interventions.DISCUSSION:Repeated education and evaluation of blood-taking skills are indeed key aspects of reducing thepercentage of clotted samples. However, continuous inter-departmental communication and teamworkplay an even more pivotal role in establishing a solid foundation to sustain the success of this qualityassurance project.182 | Page