Aim: Hemolyzed specimens are often a significant cause of economic and clinical problems between the clinics and the laboratory. The rate of hemolysis is markedly higher in the Emergency Department (ED) as compared with other hospital departments. We aimed to reduce the rate of hemolysis in the ED.

Methods: Hemolytic index (HI) specific for each biochemistry test was defined on the autoanalyzer. In the first 6-month phase, the blood samples were usually drawn by injector. In the second 2-month phase, they were drawn by Luer Lok adapter with holder. Data were obtained retrospectively from the Laboratory Information System. The cut-off value was taken as ≥0.5 g/L. The statistical difference between hemolysis ratios was calculated by chi-square test and statistical significance was accepted as p <0.05.

Results: In first phase, hemolysis was detected in 8.725 (36%) of 24.213 total samples. In second phase, hemolysis was detected in 949 (13.4%) of 7064 total samples. The rate of hemolysis affected tests were 9.1% (32.980/292.347) in first phase and 3.4% (2.984/86.808) in second phase. The differences are statistically significant (p <0.05). The rate of hemolysis samples and hemolysis-affected tests decreased by 63% and 70% respectively.

Conclusion: Considering the increase in the number of patients admitted to EDs in the world, laboratory errors and turnaround time should be minimized. In order to reduce hemolysis rates, it is considered as a correct step to repeat the trainings and to increase the use of Luer-Lok.