{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,22]],"date-time":"2026-09-22T00:12:40Z","timestamp":1790035960644,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine","issue":"6","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2017,6,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Context.\u2014<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Delta checks serve as a patient-based quality control tool to detect testing problems.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objective.\u2014<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To evaluate delta check practices and outcomes.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Design.\u2014<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Q-Probes participants provided information about delta check policies and procedures. Information about investigations, problems, and corrective actions was prospectively collected for up to 100 testing episodes involving delta check alerts.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results.\u2014<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Among 4505 testing episodes involving 6541 delta check alerts, the median frequencies of actions taken among 49 laboratories were clinical review, 38.0%; retest, 25.0%, or recheck, 20.2%; current specimen, nothing, 15.4%; analytical check, 5.0%; other; 2%; and retest or check previous specimen, 0%. Rates of any action taken by analyte ranged from 84 of 179 (46.9%) for glucose to 748 of 868 (86.2%) for hemoglobin and potassium. Among 4505 testing episodes, nontesting problems included physiologic causes (1472; 32.7%); treatment causes (1318; 19.2%); and transfusion causes (846; 9.9%). Testing problems included 77 interference (1.7%), 62 contamination (1.4%), 51 clotting (1.1%), 27 other (0.6%), 12 mislabeling (0.3%), and 5 analytical (0.1%). Testing problems by analyte ranged from 13 of 457 (2.8%) for blood urea nitrogen to 12 of 46 (26.1%) for mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration. Using more delta check analytes was associated with detecting more testing problems (P = .04). More delta check alerts per testing episode resulted in more actions taken (P = .001) and more problems identified (P &amp;lt; .001). The most common outcome among 4500 testing episodes was reporting results without modifications or comments in 2512 (55.8%); results were not reported in 136 (3.0%).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions.\u2014<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Actions taken in response to delta check alerts varied widely, and most testing problems detected were preanalytical. Using a higher number of different analytes and evaluating previous specimens may improve delta check practices.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.5858\/arpa.2016-0161-cp","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2017,4,12]],"date-time":"2017-04-12T10:24:55Z","timestamp":1491992695000},"page":"813-823","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":47,"title":["Delta Check Practices and Outcomes: A Q-Probes Study Involving 49 Health Care Facilities and 6541 Delta Check Alerts"],"prefix":"10.5858","volume":"141","author":[{"given":"Ron B.","family":"Schifman","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Michael","family":"Talbert","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rhona J.","family":"Souers","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"From the Diagnostics Department, Southern Arizona VA Healthcare System, Tuscon (Dr Schifman); the Department of Pathology, University of Arizona, Tucson (Dr Schifman); the Department of Pathology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City (Dr Talbert); and the Surveys Department, College of American Pathologists, Northfield, Illinois (Ms Souers)."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"3906","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2017,4,12]]},"reference":[{"issue":"1","key":"2022060214583769600_i1543-2165-141-6-813-b01","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5","DOI":"10.1093\/clinchem\/27.1.5","article-title":"A clinical evaluation of various delta check methods","volume":"27","author":"Wheeler","year":"1981","journal-title":"Clin Chem"},{"key":"2022060214583769600_i1543-2165-141-6-813-b02","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"707","DOI":"10.1093\/ajcp\/62.5.707","article-title":"and delta checks: a systematic approach to quality control","volume":"62","author":"Nosanchuk","year":"1974","journal-title":"Am J Clin 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