An integrated system for monitoring the quality of sample transportation.

OBJECTIVES: Due to the consolidation of laboratory testing facilities, there is an increasing need for systems able to assure quality and safety in biological sample transportation, although little evidence on this aspect is available in literature. DESIGN AND METHODS: An integrated system for sample transportation, implemented and monitored over a five-year period by our team, consists of secondary and tertiary containers, a device for temperature and time recording, and a system manager allowing the acceptance or rejection of biological samples through the immediate visualization and validation of registered data. RESULTS: Data collected between 2009 and October 2011, after a preliminary phase for optimizing the temperature inside the containers, demonstrated the frequency of transportations at an acceptable temperature (<20 °C) had increased and that of transportations at an excessively high temperature (>25 °C) had decreased by ~80%. CONCLUSIONS: The integrated system and related operating instructions allow improvement in the quality of sample transportation over time.