An Audit of Turnaround Time in Histopathology: A Comparative Study of Two Years in a Teaching Health Facility

Abstract

Background: Pathology laboratory turnaround time (TAT) is an important quality indicator of laboratory performance. Delay in the issuance of reports contributes to prolonged patients' treatment-waiting time, decreases satisfaction, and increases patient morbidity and the cost of treatment.

 Aim: To evaluate the TAT in the Histopathology Unit of the Department of Morbid Anatomy and Histopathology of a Nigerian teaching hospital and compare the findings with those of similar studies elsewhere.

 Methods: This was a retrospective descriptive study of all the consecutive surgical samples received in the Department of Morbid Anatomy and Histopathology of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso, Nigeria, in the years 2016 and 2021. In determining the TAT, specimen handling as a process was divided into four stages: grossing time, tissue processing time, reporting time, and transcription time.

Results: The mean TAT for 2016 and 2021 were 15.23±10.05 days and 18.10±9.61 days, respectively. In 2016 and 2021, respectively, 57.0% and 43.6% of cases were grossed, processed with slides reported, and results typed, corrected, and signed within 14 days. There was no significant linear relationship between TAT for 2016 and 2021(r = 0.018 and p = 0.685).

Conclusion: The tasks of grossing specimens, reporting slides and verification of results were major contributors to TAT, with tissue processing also playing a significant role. These findings underscore the importance of proper funding and implementation of a quality management system to optimise workflow in histopathology.