RESUMO
The Sampling Conference for the prevention of preanalytical phase errors was first held at Fukushima in 1987. Since then, The Sampling Conference has been held in several areas in Japan. For the same purpose, we started the Tokai Sampling Conference in the Tokai area including Aichi, Shizuoka, Gifu and Mie prefectures in 1990, and discussed clinical errors in laboratory measurements caused by physiological variations in age, sex and the season, influence of food, exercise, posture and medication, effects of anticoagulants, sample storage conditions and so on. We have studied many preanalytical errors at these conferences. Moreover, additional problems have been revealed at the conferences. Safety and risk management to avoid needle sticks and Vacutainer-induced infections have been discussed, and this information is thought to be important not only for laboratory workers but also for patients.
